The Republicans' healthcare bill should have included a provision to put Medicaid under the authority of the states, former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark., told Fox News' "Fox & Friends" on Wednesday.
"The biggest thing I wish Congress had done . . . they need to block-grant Medicaid back to the states," Huckabee said. "This is something governors have been begging for. And let me tell you something, every governor, Democrat or Republican, for over 25 years, has said is, 'Give us less money but more flexibility. We'll cover more people and do it better, because we will tailor it to our unique populations.'"
Congressional lawmakers will not give Medicaid to the states, because they want to keep control, Huckabee said.
"They want to keep the power in Washington," Huckabee said. "And until we devolve the power of healthcare out of Washington and a centralized federal government, and put it back in the hands of the people, closer to the patients, we're not going to get the results we're looking for. And that's my disappointment here.
". . . Healthcare is not going to get less expensive until we focus on curing and preventing disease. All we're doing with our healthcare plans is treating the diseases after they are catastrophic. It'll never get fixed until we put our focus on a different paradigm: prevention and cures."
Huckabee said the bill was a "good start," but needs more work.
"I'd say it's more of a twist of the screwdriver and a tap of the hammer, than it is a something that is a demolition of the previous plan and something new."
"It's not horrible. It's not nearly as good as it could or should be, and I hope this is just the start and not the finish line," the former governor said.
The general public does not care about the political aspects of the bill, about repealing and replacing Obamacare. They care whether they can afford insurance, Huckabee said.
Huckabee has been a prominent supporter of President Donald Trump, including offering praise for Trump's immigration policies during an appearance in February on Fox News' "First 100 Days."