Senate health care bill is ObamaCare-plus, says Sen. Rand Paul

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Thursday the Senate Republican health care bill sounds like “ObamaCare-plus” due to the increase in spending and subsidies.

“When we look at the bill, we actually find that with the ObamaCare subsidies, not only are we keeping them, we may actually be providing more subsidies than ObamaCare has,” Sen. Paul said on Fox News’ “Your World” with Neil Cavuto.

The Kentucky senator wants to apply leverage to make the bill look better and move away from subsidizing health insurance companies.

“We should be for repeal but we also have to have sufficient confidence in capitalism, competition and free markets,” Paul said.

Senator Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) offered to work with Republicans on a new draft for health care reform Thursday.

“Let us forget this draft bill. Let us right now, Democrats and Republicans, sit down and try to come up with a bipartisan bill,” Schumer said.

Paul called Schumer’s plea to work with the GOP on a new health care bill “disingenuous” and filled with political rhetoric.

“They [Democrats] are not for repealing any regulations. They are not for repealing any ObamaCare taxes, so no, they don’t want to work on this,” he said.

Paul, along with senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah), announced that he will vote against the GOP health-care bill and is hopeful the new one has a chance to pass if Senate leadership is willing to make it more of a repeal bill.

“My hope is that the four of us who have announced our opposition will be invited to sit down with the people who wrote the bill, [Senate] leadership, and say, ‘What will it take to get you guys behind the bill?’” Paul said.

He added that allowing Medicaid expansion and repealing the taxes that pay for it doesn’t make economic sense.