GOP healthcare bill holdout Sen. Rand Paul on Sunday said the proposed legislation is “a bad idea” that creates block grants with “Obamacare spending.”
In an interview on NBC News’ “Meet The Press,” the Kentucky Republican said he’d be on board with the Graham-Cassidy legislation if the block grant spending was at pre-Obama administration levels.
“I have always been a ‘yes’ for [Obamacare] repeal, but the bill unfortunately keeps most of the Obamacare spending, almost all of it, and just … block grants it to the states,” he said. “I don't think block granting it makes it go away, it just makes the money you're spending still in Obamacare. Taking it from Democrat states and giving it to Republican states. It sets up a food fight over the formula. This is a bad idea.”
Pressed if he was a “no” vote on the bill as long as it called for block grant spending to states, Paul said he’d want spending levels lowered.
“I would block grant at pre-Obama levels,” he said. “If you want to look at 2009 levels with Medicaid I would say yes. “
“I started my political career campaigning against Obamacare,” he added, saying short of that, “we'll have Republicans absorb the blame for a terrible health care system.”
Paul also had some advice for President Donald Trump in his fight with the NFL over players who conduct on-field protests of racial injustice during the playing of the National Anthem.
“If I was the president, I would probably not get involved in this,” he said.
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