Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky on Tuesday said the House GOP’s new health care plan “will not pass” and said a provision hiking premiums for people who go without insurance for a certain period of time is likely unconstitutional.
“The House bill that’s been put forward is Obamacare lite. It won’t work. Premiums and prices will continue to spiral out of control,” Mr. Paul said on “Fox & Friends.”
“This is Obamacare lite. It will not pass. Conservatives aren’t going to take it,” he said.
Mr. Paul said the plan includes insurance company bailouts and that the individual mandate to purchase health insurance or pay a penalty remains in a different form.
“The Obamacare lite bill says that you will pay the penalty not to the government, but to the insurance company. This is in all likelihood unconstitutional and could destroy the whole repeal plan,” he said.
The plan includes a “continuous coverage incentive” for people in the individual market that says their insurance premium rate will increase by 30 percent if they go more than 63 days without coverage.
SEE ALSO: Republican Health care plan details repeal of Obamacare mandate, taxes
“It’s the individual mandate, but you pay your penalty not to the government — to a private insurance company,” Mr. Paul said. “So much of their bill is a bailout for the insurance companies.”
Mr. Paul said he appreciated President Trump’s statement that the plan is up for negotiation and said he spoke with the president on Monday.
“I think he’s open-minded on this,” Mr. Paul said. “He wants Obamacare repealed like all conservatives do, but he realizes that conservatives have a lot of objections.”
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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