WASHINGTON — A leading Senate Republican on healthcare policy has been courting Democrats to back his alternative proposal to an extension of the COVID-era Obamacare subsidies set to expire next month.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, is seeking to take the extra funding, which has been going to insurance companies, and give it to consumers directly through their healthcare savings accounts.

“I am speaking to Democrats, and there’s things you have to work through,” Cassidy told reporters Monday when asked about negotiations. “At least one person has been, ‘Wow, this sounds pretty good.’ Another person [said, ‘It] ‘sounds good, but let me learn more.’

“As a conservative, I love it, but I think it’s got a lot of appeal t

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