Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said he does not like the manner in which Senate Republicans have worked behind closed doors on its healthcare legislation.
"I'm not defending the process. I don't like the process," Cassidy told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program on Wednesday. "But that said, I can either sit around and complain about the process or I can dig in and try to make it better."
Cassidy said he has not yet seen the legislation, and will not vote for the bill without being able to examine it first.
"If I don't get to read it, I don't vote for it. If I don't get to study it, I don't vote for it," he said.
Part of the legislation must be rolling back Medicaid expansion, because states have not been able to afford it, said Cassidy, and "there's something that has to be done to make it sustainable both for the state taxpayer and the federal. We've got to take care of the patient… that's the sweet spot we're searching for."
As for specifics of the bill, "I haven't seen writing on a piece of paper."
The senator is hoping that those who benefit from Medicaid now will still be taken care of under the new legislation. He said he discussed a waiver process for automatic enrollment into Medicaid with Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price.
President Donald Trump has said he wanted the legislation to be more generous, Cassidy noted and "during the campaign, he said he wanted all covered, caring for pre-existing conditions, eliminating mandates, but lowering premiums."
"If we can achieve President Trump's goals, his contract with the voter, we will have achieved a lot," he added.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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