Republican says ‘deal can be had’ on healthcare as subsidies set to expire

US senator Bill Cassidy said on Sunday that “there’s a deal to be had” on tackling the rising cost of healthcare, suggesting he remained optimistic over bipartisan cooperation on the issue despite the recent failure of two competing proposals in the Senate.

Speaking on CBS’s Face the Nation, the Louisiana Republican and chair of the Senate healthcare committee encouraged collaboration, saying “there has to be a meeting of the minds between Democrats” and members of his party.

The Senate on Thursday rejected both Democratic and Republican efforts to curb healthcare costs, underscoring the ongoing divide over what to do about soon-to-expire tax credits that help millions of Americans buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Democrats pushed for a three-year renewal of the enhanced tax credits. Meanwhile, the measure introduced by Cassidy – a physician – and his Republican colleague Mike Crapo is built around government payments of $1,000 into the health spending accounts of people enrolled in bronze or catastrophic exchange plans, which typically have high deductibles. People from the ages of 50 to 64 would get another $500, and there would be limits for all who received the funds on using the money to pay for abortions or gender-affirming care.

Cassidy’s plan received no Democratic backing. He argued, however, that Democrats must also consider the burden of high deductibles in their approach, stating: “You’ve got to put cash in the patient’s pocket to pay the out of pocket.”

He continued: “I would be willing to do a short-term extension of the premium tax credit for those people with higher premiums if they will concede that we’ve got to do something” for $6,000 out of pocket deductibles.

“I think there’s a deal to be had here,” Cassidy added. “We need to push for that deal.”

Cassidy said he was actively working to find a compromise that could appeal to both sides of the aisle. “Let’s address our concerns,” he said. “And then this Republican would be willing to do something on a short-term extension of the premium tax credits if that’s what it takes to get the deal to help those folks with the more expensive premium – but also helping everybody with their deductible.”

His remarks come as senators express hope that some form of agreement could emerge after Thursday’s unsuccessful efforts. Several Republicans have signaled openness to continuing the enhanced tax credits temporarily, with certain restrictions, noting that roughly 22 million Americans could lose assistance when the credits lapse at the end of the month.

“We can get this done,” Cassidy said. “And I think we can meet the concerns, both about the out of pocket, but also about the premium.”