Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy said he opposes making further changes to state waivers for Obamacare’s insurance regulations in a major Obamacare overhaul bill he is co-sponsoring.
The remarks come after Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, reportedly wanted more changes to the waivers to win his support. The GOP is trying to muster 50 votes to support the bill described as a last-shot bid to repeal Obamacare.
A GOP aide said that Cruz wants more authority for states to gut Obamacare regulations that include protections for people with pre-existing conditions.
The bill led by Cassidy of Louisiana and Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina takes Obamacare funding and gives it to states through block grants. It also cuts Medicaid funding through shifting to per-capita caps, which gives states funding based on the number of beneficiaries.
A revised version of the bill aims to make it easier for states to eliminate an Obamacare mandate called community rating that prevents insurers from charging sick people more money.
Cassidy said during a break in a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee hearing Monday on the bill that he wasn’t in favor of making further changes to the waivers.
He said Cruz should support the bill because it gives a lot of money to his state.
“Texas comes out ahead by about $18 billion from 2020 to 2026,” Cassidy told reporters. “It is a tremendous sum of money for those who are working families in Texas.”
The bill would cut Obamacare funding overall, but it also would cut funding to states that expanded Medicaid and give that funding to states that did not expand it.
Three Republican Senators — Rand Paul of Kentucky, John McCain of Arizona, and Susan Collins of Maine — say they will not vote for the bill. Republicans can only afford to lose two senators for passage, assuming Vice President Mike Pence casts the tie-breaking vote.
Cruz said this weekend that he also is a no unless changes are made to the waivers.
