Senator Bill Cassidy urges collaboration between Democrats and his party after Senate rejected dual healthcare bills
US senator Bill Cassidy said on Sunday that “there’s a deal to be had” on tackling the rising cost of healthcare, suggesting he remained optimistic over bipartisan cooperation on the issue despite the recent failure of two competing proposals in the Senate.
Speaking on CBS’s Face the Nation, the Louisiana Republican and chair of the Senate healthcare committee encouraged collaboration, saying “there has to be a meeting of the minds between Democrats” and members of his party.
The Senate on Thursday rejected both Democratic and Republican efforts to curb healthcare costs, underscoring the ongoing divide over what to do about soon-to-expire tax credits that help millions of Americans buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Democrats pushed for a three-year renewal of the enhanced tax credits. Meanwhile, the measure introduced by Cassidy – a physician – and his Republican colleague Mike Crapo is built around government payments of $1,000 into the health spending accounts of people enrolled in bronze or catastrophic exchange plans, which typically have high deductibles. People from the ages of 50 to 64 would get another $500, and there would be limits for all who received the funds on using the money to pay for abortions or gender-affirming care.
