Bill Cassidy deserves a pat on the back.

The Republican U.S. senator went home to Louisiana this week and showed up at a town hall meeting in Baton Rouge. He got a rough welcome from his constituents.

Why the hurrah for Sen. Cassidy? Because he’s willing to talk to his constituents about something that’s on their minds: health care and the Senate’s plan to overhaul it.

Cassidy is on the fence regarding the Senate GOP’s plan to replace the Affordable Care Act. He famously said the Senate needed to approve a bill that passed the “Jimmy Kimmel test,” referring to the late-night comedian’s well-known tale of his newborn son’s birth and the health concerns he faced; Kimmel asked on national TV whether it’s right to deny people health care if they cannot afford insurance.

A lot of Sen. Cassidy’s Republican colleagues — both in the Senate and the House of Representatives — are not bothering to listen to voters’ concerns about the future of the ACA and whatever might replace it. I’m deeply disappointed to know that my own congressman, Mac Thornberry, also a Republican, has chosen to forgo any town hall meetings to discuss this issue with his constituents.

Bill Cassidy, though, has chosen to hear from his “bosses,” the people who pay his salary, who fund the government and who are most directly affected by the laws Congress enacts.

Good for him. Indeed, good for all our elected representatives who choose to listen to what their bosses expect from them.