Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) (AP File Photo)

(CNSNew.com) – Obamacare supporters may tout free preventive care, free immunizations, and free cancer screenings, but when it comes to the Democrats’ health care law, nothing is free, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said on Sunday.

“First of all, there is nothing for free. You’re going to pay for it, and we’re paying for it through higher premiums,” Paul told “Fox News Sunday.”

“The Republican plan is freedom of choice -- more choices, not less. Obamacare narrows your choices. We're for competition. We're for selling insurance across state lines. And above all, we're for driving premiums down. The problem under the old system was premiums were too high. Under Obamacare the premiums are even higher. I don't see any way Obamacare can work.”

On another topic, Paul said he does not support extending unemployment benefits for 1.3 million Americans who will lose them at the end of the year.

“I do support unemployment benefits for the 26 weeks that they're paid for,” Paul told Chris Wallace. “If you extend it beyond that, you do a disservice to these workers. There was a study that came out a few months ago, and it said, if you have a worker that's been unemployed for four weeks and on unemployment insurance and one that's on 99 weeks, which would you hire? Every employer -- nearly 100 percent -- said they will always hire the person who's been out of work four weeks.



“When you allow people to be on unemployment insurance for 99 weeks, you're causing them to become part of this perpetual unemployed group in our -- in our economy. And it really -- while it seems good, it actually does a disservice to the people you're trying to help.”

Michael Czin, a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee, called Sen. Paul "out of touch with the needs of Americans who are hurting and need help while the economy continues to recover."

Czin said Paul's position "stands in stark contrast to President Obama’s."

In his weekly radio address on Saturday, President Obama urged Congress to extend unemployment benefits because failure to do so "won't just hurt families already struggling – it will actually harm our economy."



Echoing something other Democrats have said, Obama argued that "unemployment insurance is one of the most effective ways there is to boost our economy," because it gives people money to spend -- "and that means more customers for our businesses and, ultimately, more jobs. And the evidence shows that unemployment insurance doesn’t stop people from trying hard to find work."