Rand Paul Reveals His Own Obamacare Replacement: Nothing

The bipartisan consensus is that the House Republicans' new healthcare plan is absolute garbage, with conservatives, Democrats, and pretty much anyone who isn't a Donald Trump or Paul Ryan loyalist denouncing it. Kentucky senator Rand Paul, an anti-government Republican with a history of publicity stunts, has an alternative he introduced on Thursday: He wants to nix the Affordable Care Act without anything to replace it, according to the Hill.

This strategy, called "repeal and delay," was floated by some Republicans weeks ago, the idea being that they could ax the hated ACA without having to specify how they would improve America's broken healthcare system. But Trump himself more or less nixed that idea in January, emphasizing he wants to institute a new healthcare policy as quickly as possible.

Paul's ACA repeal bill—a version of which was introduced to the House by Ohio Republican Jim Jordan—would get rid of taxes associated with the ACA over the next three years. The Hill reports that "the legislation would also eliminate eligibility for Obamacare's Medicaid expansion as of 2020 as well as the higher federal matching rate included in the Affordable Care Act."

Of course, taking away health insurance from millions of people without a replacement isn't necessarily good politics—though to be fair the House bill also seems politically fraught, as does just keeping the ACA in place. Paul promised that after the repeal, "We can have a separate vote on replacement legislation that will deliver lower costs, better care, and greater access to the American people." In other words, he wants to do the easy part first.

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