Former Republican lawmaker Bill Frist on Tuesday said he likes "much of Obamacare" and that he would be working to repair and improve it if he were still in Congress, the Washington Examiner reported.
The former Senate majority leader under President George W. Bush made the remarks at the Permanente Executive Leadership Summit, saying also that more states should take part in and grow the Medicaid expansion program, the Examiner reported.
"I like much of Obamacare because of the access issue," Frist told the assembly, the Examiner reported. "I'm not about throw it out and start over."
Of course, Frist's father, Thomas, co-founded the for-profit Hospital Corporations of America, a system that benefited from Obamacare, the Examiner reports. Frist's brother, Thomas Jr., was also a co-founder and former chairman of HCA, one of the world's largest healthcare companies.
Regardless, Frist told the audience that Republicans need to do a better job of identifying the healthcare issues and listening to experts rather than just trying to dismantle and destroy Obamacare.
"You need to build a constituency and listen to the physicians in the room," the Examiner quoted Frist. "Every major doctor, payer and hospital group came out against the legislation."
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