A fed-up Sen. Rand Paul bolted from a meeting with Senate Republicans and House Speaker Paul Ryan on repealing Obamacare, grousing later that "unacceptable" replacement plans were being discussed, Politico reported.
According to the news outlet, the Wisconsin Republican met with GOP senators on Tuesday to assure them progress was being made toward repeal of the healthcare law.
But Paul said he left after hearing conversation about keeping Obamacare's Medicaid expansion intact and creating tax credits, which the Kentucky Republican charged were simply a "new entitlement program."
"I hear things that are unacceptable to me," Paul told Politico afterward. "If they don't seem to care what conservatives think about complete repeal of Obamacare, they're going to be shocked when they count the votes."
Politico reported that one unnamed Republican refuted the claim that Medicaid expansion came up at the meeting with Ryan, however.
Paul and conservative Freedom Caucus members back a plan for a two-year transition time away from Medicaid, Politico reported. However, there's 20 GOP senators representing Medicaid expansion states who want more time and stability for hundreds of thousands who now rely on Medicaid for insurance, Politico reported.
"There are certain aspects of a repeal mechanism that are extremely important to me. And that Medicaid expansion piece is one," West Virginia GOP Sen. Shelley Moore Capito told Politico.
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