Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana on Sunday said repealing Obamacare without a replacement in hand is a “non-starter” that would disrupt the insurance markets and violate President Trump’s vow to protect sick Americans under a GOP health care plan.
Mr. Cassidy, a Republican moderate who isn’t quite sold on the Senate GOP’s health care bill, said insurers would likely hike their premiums to safeguard their bottom lines if Congress scraps the 2010 Affordable Care Act’s mandates and subsidies, without knowing what will come next.
If that happened, Mr. Trump’s opponents would feel emboldened, Mr. Cassidy told “Fox News Sunday.”
“It gives them the stronger hand,” he said.
Obamacare guarantees coverage for people with preexisting medical conditions, so scrapping it without a replacement could leave them in the lurch, he said.
“I think [repealing it outright] betrays President Trump’s campaign pledges,” Mr. Cassidy said.
Conservatives say Republicans getting cold feet about killing off Obamacare are the ones violating their promises.
Sens. Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Rand Paul of Kentucky say GOP senators should repeal Obamacare and replace it at a later date if they cannot settle on a rewrite of their stalled Senate bill when they return from the July Fourth recess.
Mr. Trump recently endorsed the idea on Twitter. It is a reversal of his position in January, when he pressed for a simultaneous replacement of the law.
Mr. Sasse says the Senate could cancel the August recess to work out an alternative plan.
For now, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is struggling to pin down 50 votes from his narrow majority for his existing plan, which uses fast-track budget rules to avoid a Democratic filibuster.
The Congressional Budget Score is expected to score an amendment by Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican, that would let insurers offer plans that do not comply with Obamacare’s coverage regulations so long as they offer at least one plan that does.
Conservatives say allowing consumers to buy the type of coverage they want is the best way to drive down premiums.
Opponents say consumers will pay less for skimpier benefits, while those who still want or need the type of robust coverage mandated by Obamacare will face higher prices that must be backstopped by taxpayer-funded subsidies and insurer-stabilization funds.
Mr. Cassidy said the plan could work if everyone remains in the same insurance pool, so insurers could spread out their risk among a broader base on enrollees.
If the risk pool is split into two, “then that’s bad,” he said.
Mr. Cassidy said the best forward is to adopt a his plan, written with Sen. Susan Collins, Maine Republican, that would let states keep Obamacare if they like it, or adopt a more conservative model that auto-enrolls people into coverage — though residents could opt out.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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