Jimmy Panetta

On Wednesday’s broadcast of NewsNation’s “The Hill,” Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) said that the entire Affordable Care Act should be looked at, but we also have to “understand that it’s going to be a heck of a lot more expensive if we don’t extend these tax credits.”

After playing video of Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO) saying that you can’t find people who say their healthcare has gotten cheaper, host Blake Burman asked, “I don’t think he’s wrong that you won’t find one person whose — who would tell you, across this country, that healthcare has gotten cheaper or stayed the same. So, is it the time, Congressman Panetta, I know we’re talking about subsidy extensions, is it the time to say, you know what, maybe we need to take a look at the whole thing when it comes to the Affordable Care Act?”

Panetta answered, “Of course, but, at the same time, you’ve got to understand that it’s going to be a heck of a lot more expensive if we don’t extend these tax credits. That’s why that’s the first thing we’ve got to do is extend that runway, allow us the time and the opportunity to then have those substantive conversations on the serious issues, on the serious causes of why our healthcare is so dang much.”