GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy defended his proposed heath care repeal bill Thursday on “Fox and Friends,” and called out late night host Jimmy Kimmel for mocking it.
“Jimmy doesn’t understand. And not because he’s a talk show host but because we’ve never spoken,” Cassidy said. “He’s only heard from those on the left who are doing their best to preserve Obamacare.”
Kimmel claimed that Cassidy spoke to him while he was a guest on Kimmel’s show, but Cassidy says the appearance was months ago and never included a detailed discussion.
“We were on his show a year ago and everything I said in there is true. There’s a tension. How do you pay for it without breaking the bank, and how do you take care of those providing insurance. Our bill does that,” Cassidy said. “The legislation says that nothing the governors ask for will be approved unless there is affordable and adequate coverage for those with preexisting conditions.”
Cassidy asked Kimmel to consider the lower income families that the repeal bill would help, especially because the bill would give states far more flexibility.
“It gives billions to states like Maine, Virginia and Missouri, that their states don’t have right now, that those lower income families can have access to insurance,” Cassidy said. “He [Kimmel] just doesn’t understand that. And I say that not to provoke but just to actually ask for him to at least consider those families in Maine, Virginia, and Missouri.”
Cassidy said that during his time as a physician he treated patients who’d been cut off by their insurance companies due to preexisting conditions, and believes his repeal bill will take care of their needs and allow them to get access to quality care.
“My own story is that I worked for 25 years in a public hospital for the uninsured. Sometimes treating those who lost their insurance because an insurance company cut them off because they had a preexisting condition. My life’s work has been taking care of those folks. We continue to take care of them in this legislation,” Cassidy said.
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