Rand Paul warns Republicans not to repeal-and-delay Obamacare

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul is warning Republicans not to repeal Obamacare without voting in a replacement for the health care law on the same day.

“I think it's imperative that Republicans do a replacement simultaneous to repeal,” Paul said Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” cautioning that disaster in the form of insurance company bankruptcies and a “massive” bailout could follow a move to repeal the law without a new one in its place. “If they don't, Obamacare continues to unravel.”


Some Republicans, determined to repeal Obamacare quickly now that they have one of their own entering the White House, have advocated repealing the law with a delay period in which they would try to come up with some replacement. If they failed to pass a new law in that time, millions of people who depend on Obamacare for their health insurance could lose their coverage.

Paul, a libertarian-leaning Republican, made clear on Wednesday that he does not agree with his colleagues arguing for a repeal-and-delay strategy.

“We need to think through how we do this, and it's a huge mistake for Republicans if they do not vote for replacement on the same day as we vote for repeal,” Paul said.