Sen. Bill Cassidy Sunday defended President Donald Trump’s executive action to cut Obamacare subsidies as a “step in the right direction” — and one that ultimately will help families.
In an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” the Louisiana Republican and doctor — who cosponsored with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a doomed Obamacare repeal and replacement plan — called the subsidies cut a “short-term” fix to give “regulatory flexibility to lower those costs.”
“And then do something like Graham-Cassidy to correct things long term, I think that's a good direction,” he said.
“If you take the totality of what the president did, I think it actually helps the family,” he added. “So, those who are lowest income, the payments will still — the subsidies will still go to insurance companies for them to buy their coverage."
He also refuted anchor James Rosen’s description of Trump’s executive order as one “effectively to gut” Obamacare.
“The president is not gutting the Affordable Care Act,” Cassidy replied.
“Let's just take the cost-sharing reduction payments as one example. They’re unconstitutional.... If there's something, which is damaging the credibility of the Affordable Care Act, is these premiums which are unaffordable, not that which the president is doing."
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