Sen. Bill Cassidy says "there's a deal to be had" on health care after failed Senate votes

Washington — Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, said Sunday that "there's a deal to be had" on addressing health care costs after a pair of bills failed to secure enough support to advance in the Senate last week. 

"There has to be a meeting of the minds between Democrats and Republicans," Cassidy said on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan."

Last week, the Senate rejected two bills aimed at lowering health care costs, as lawmakers struggle to reach consensus over how to address expiring tax credits that help millions of Americans purchase insurance under the Affordable Care Act. 

While Democrats sought a three-year extension of the enhanced tax credits with their bill, Republicans offered their own legislation sponsored by Cassidy. Rather than extending the enhanced tax credits, the measure would redirect funds to health savings accounts for those who use bronze plans on state exchanges, allowing people to save on premiums by switching to the lower-tier plans, while giving them the ability to use the HSA funds toward their deductibles.

The Republican-led measure didn't pick up any support from Democrats during the dueling votes last week. But Cassidy said that in addition to their concern about the premiums, Democrats must acknowledge high deductibles, saying "you've got to put cash in the patient's pocket to pay the out of pocket."

"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 the $6,000 out of pocket," Cassidy added. "I think there's a deal to be had here. We need to push for that deal."

The Louisiana Republican said he's searching for a deal to address the concerns of Democrats and Republicans. 

"Let's just meet," Cassidy said. "Let's address our concerns, 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."

The comments come as some senators have expressed tepid optimism in recent days about a path forward on a compromise after last week's partisan exercise. Some Republicans have said they're open to an extension of the enhanced tax credits, with some new limits and on a temporary basis, acknowledging the cliff that around 22 million Americans face with their expiration at the end of the month.

Cassidy argued that with his approach, lawmakers would have until the end of March to implement a solution, "because with these kind of accounts that people have money in, they just save the receipts, they submit them, and they get reimbursed."

"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."

In a separate appearance on "Face the Nation," Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia responded to Cassidy's comments. Warner said lawmakers shouldn't wait to address the rising costs, urging them to "fix it now, so people don't go into Christmas thinking they're going to not know if they're being able to afford health care."

"Fix the crisis right now," Warner said. "Extend the subsidies, and then let's debate how we fix it."