The Republicans' healthcare bill could help the poor more than Medicaid expansion would, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said Tuesday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
Cassidy made the comment when asked if poor people would be worse off under proposed cuts in the bill to Medicaid.
"If this bill works, the way it will work is that if you pull back on Medicaid, you actually create a private insurance option, which is as effective, as good for these folks as Medicaid expansion," the senator said.
For the working poor, a private option would "possibly" be better, Cassidy said.
"There are some people who do not take a better paying job because they do not want to lose their Medicaid," he added. "There's a cliff, if you will, between Medicaid benefits and that on private insurance."
The senator said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and his fellow Senate Republicans were not planning on giving up on the bill.
"Mitch is not the kind of guy to take a knee," Cassidy said. "Now, granted, it might occur, but I would like to think . . . that there would still be this path forward. If not this bill, then another.
"I don't think any of us are ready to take a knee."
Cassidy said he has not seen a final Senate healthcare bill and has not made a commitment to vote for it.
In his state of Louisiana, he has discussed healthcare at recent meetings.
"I am doing my best to make sure that we continue coverage, care for those with preexisting conditions, eliminate mandates, and lower premiums," he said at one meeting, according to NOLA.com.
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