WASHINGTON– U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) today voted against a Democrat-backed resolution that would have overturned a Trump policy that is helping lower health care premiums for American families.
The Senate rejected the Democratic effort to repeal the use of 1332 reinsurance waivers using the Congressional Review Act (CRA), a legislative tool Congress can use to override rules crafted by the president. These waivers give states the flexibility to craft policies to reduce premium costs specific to their states’ needs while protecting patients with pre-existing conditions.
Among the seven states that use the waivers, six of them saw premium decreases in the last year, led by Maryland that saw a 30 percent reduction. The average premium reduction in those states was 7.5 percent. Premiums rose by 3.1 percent in states that did not use the waivers. Louisiana, which does not use the waivers, is expected to see a 10 percent premium increase on the Obamacare marketplace next year. Cassidy is an advocate for Louisiana adopting the waiver program.
“If health care is not affordable, it is not available. What we’ve seen by the folks on the left who care about health care costs is a doubling-down on government control. They want to go for Medicare for All. They want to take away your employer-sponsored insurance, but at least they acknowledge that cost is a problem. You can have the greatest plan in the world, and if it is unaffordable, then that greatness is ironic. It is on a piece of paper, but it is not real in someone’s life,” said Dr. Cassidy during a speech on the Senate floor yesterday.
See video of Dr. Cassidy’s full remarks here.
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