U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, is scheduled to address the U.S. Senate today regarding the Health Care Freedom for Patients Act. The bill, which he co-authored with Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID), chair of the Senate Finance Committee, aims to reduce health care costs by providing direct financial support to families.
According to Senator Cassidy’s office, the legislation is positioned as an alternative to Democratic proposals that allocate taxpayer funds to insurance companies. The Republican plan seeks instead to send money directly to patients in order to ease their out-of-pocket expenses.
"The U.S. Senate will vote on this historic Republican bill to send money directly to patients tomorrow, Thursday, December 11th," according to a statement from Cassidy’s office. The speech is scheduled for Wednesday, December 10 at 4:50 PM ET/3:50 PM CT.
Earlier in December, Senator Cassidy delivered floor speeches about his party’s approach and rising health care costs for families and patients. He also led a HELP Committee hearing focused on ways to make health care more affordable.
The public can watch the speech live online. Details are subject to change depending on the Senate floor schedule.
For updates from HELP Republicans, information is available on their website and Twitter account @GOPHELP.
