Rand Paul: The failure to repeal Obamacare means premiums will continue to skyrocket

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., speaks to reporters at the Capitol after Republicans released their long-awaited bill to scuttle much of President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, June 22, 2017. He is one of four GOP senators to say they are opposed it but are open to negotiations, which could put the measure in immediate jeopardy. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) )

By Sen. Rand Paul

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What will happen now that the Obamacare repeal has failed?  The same thing that was already happening: Premiums will skyrocket. Insurers will exit, leaving monopolies or vacuums, and Americans will have less choice.

How did the GOP lose its nerve and run away from meaningful repeal?

Look no further than the billion dollar insurance companies.

The insurance industry, titans of crony capitalism, whined and whined that repeal alone would cause premiums to rise. Insurers to drop out. Americans to lose coverage.

Really? You mean exactly what is happening now under Obamacare?

What did the insurance companies want? Well, your money of course. It, apparently, is not enough to gouge us with the doubling of premiums; the insurance companies also lobbied, and lobbied hard, for a giant insurance bailout superfund. And, with compliant big government Republicans, they finally porked it up to nearly $300 billion. Obscene.

The GOP pork-fest offered to exchange Medicaid dollars for insurance profits. No wonder the bill had a 20 percent approval by the public.

RELATED: Rand Paul explains why the free market would provide Americans with the best health care

Big government Republicans looked at each other, flummoxed that voters would look askance at legislation that takes taxpayer dollars from health care for poor people and gives that money to rich people at billion dollar insurance corporations.

The clean repeal, which I supported, wasn’t perfect, but it would have forced all parties to legislatively resolve the wreckage of Obamacare.

The clean repeal, as every permutation of repeal, could not repeal the fundamental regulatory flaw of Obamacare by a simple majority vote because of arcane budget rules. And, in the end, we couldn’t convince GOP senators to fulfill their promise to voters to repeal Obamacare.

So, what will happen?

Again, premiums will continue to skyrocket. Insurers will continue to exit. The death spiral of Obamacare will continue.

Democrats will accelerate calls for an insurance bailout, and compliant, big government Republicans will join with Democrats to foist upon America more federal intervention into what should be a very private and personal matter. Sad.

Libertarian enthusiasts and optimists will hope that technology and disruptive Uber-like forces will surmount the grip of pols who lack sufficient confidence in what made America great: freedom,  freedom of choice unfettered and unchained.

We can only hope so.

What do you think?

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