Cassidy ‘encouraged’ by healthcare talks, says he could support Senate bill

“It’s very cognizant of pre-existing conditions, which is a good thing,” Cassidy, a key centrist, told reporters.

Cassidy coined the phrase “Jimmy Kimmel test” after Kimmel delivered a monologue in which he shared difficult circumstances about his son’s birth and pleaded for politicians to keep Obamacare’s guarantee for coverage of people with pre-existing illnesses. Cassidy had criticized the House-passed bill, the American Health Care Act, saying that it did not satisfy his requirement because it allows states to apply for waivers to opt out of certain Obamacare-created insurance protections.

He had a different take on a presentation he saw Tuesday on the Senate bill, though he didn’t elaborate on how a replacement bill would ensure coverage for people with pre-existing illnesses, saying that he would allow GOP leaders to share that information. He did tell reporters that the waiver provision in the House bill did not come up during a meeting earlier Tuesday.

“I think, personally, they’re moving in the right direction,” he said.

Cassidy’s shift is key as the Senate cannot afford to lose more than two votes in the Senate to pass a bill through 50 votes using reconciliation, assuming a tie-breaking vote by Vice President Mike Pence. Cassidy introduced his own Obamacare repeal and replace bill with fellow centrist Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, which would allow states to keep the law in place or to set up their own plans, including the possibility of an auto-enrollment feature paid for by the federal government

Without details, it’s not clear whether the provisions that he favors might be opposed by conservatives, but Cassidy said that he was “encouraged” and that he could see himself supporting the bill based on the initial conversations.

“Of course it’s not everything I want, but that’s life,” he said. “Welcome to my house.”