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Sen. Rand PaulRand PaulSanders, Dems defend ObamaCare at Michigan rally Paul: Medicaid expansion 'the big question' Rand Paul: ObamaCare replacement goal is to insure most people at lowest cost MORE (R-Ky.) on Sunday criticized ObamaCare and said the goal of his replacement plan is to insure as many as people as possible at a low cost.

"Our goal is to insure the most amount of people, give access to the most amount of people, at the least amount of cost," Paul said on CNN's "State of the Union."

"And I think this is where ObamaCare failed. They wanted to insure people, their motives were good, their heart was in the right place. But they put so many mandates in it that they made it too expensive."

Now, Paul said, some companies in the individual market are losing money because "young, healthy people don't want to buy it."

Paul said one of the key reforms of the replacement for President Obama's signature healthcare legislation is to "legalize the sale of inexpensive insurance."

"That means getting rid of the ObamaCare mandates on what you can buy," Paul said.

"We're going to help people save, through health savings accounts as well as a tax credit."

The replacement will also allow "individuals to come together in associations to buy insurance," Paul said.

President-elect Donald TrumpDonald TrumpTrump to continue using @realDonaldTrump account as president Trumps healthcare plan will offer insurance for everybody: report Trump on outgoing CIA director: Was this the leaker of Fake News? MORE vowed throughout his presidential campaign to repeal and replace ObamaCare.

Repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act has been a top priority of the new Congress, with Republicans now holding majorities in both the House and the Senate.

The House on Fridaytook the first step toward repealing ObamaCarewith a vote largely along party lines to approve a budget resolution serving as the vehicle to wind down the law.

Paul has been an advocate of repealing and replacing ObamaCare at the same time.

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Rand Paul: ObamaCare replacement goal is to insure most ...

Gage Skidmore / FoterWhen the Senate took the first of many steps in the Obamacare repeal process this week, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) was the only Republican to vote in opposition.

But it's important to understand that what happened this week wasn't a straightforward Obamacare repeal vote, and Paul wasn't voting to keep the law in place. He was voting out of objection to the GOP's debt-laden budget plans.

The vote was the first step in a long and convoluted budget process that Republicans are hope to use as a vehicle for repealing major components of the law. That process, known as reconciliation, is complex and convoluted, and it will take weeks if it goes swiftly, but could easily take much longer.

After the Senate adopts a budget resolution, the House must follow with its own. Then the two must come together, either through a conference process or by adopting the same measure. From there committee instructions are drawn up, and the process splits into two tracks again, with relevant House and Senate committees putting together their own reconciliation bills, each of which must be debated in multiple committees and then passed by the full body, and then unified again, likely requiring yet another conference process. Only then can the bill be sent to the president's desk. (A Roll Call infographic helpfully lays out the basics here.)

Ultimately, there's no guarantee that this process will actually end with the repeal of the health law.

So what we saw this week wasn't the main event. If this were a dinner party, it wouldn't be the meal. It wouldn't even be setting the table. It would be more like deciding that perhaps there should be a meal several weeks or months down the road, with no final agreement about what might be on the menu.

Paul's no vote was an objection to the budget itselfwhich adds to the national debt and provides no clear path to budget balancenot to repealing the health care law.

Here's how he explained it:

"As a physician, I cannot wait to repeal Obamacare and replace it with a health care system that relies on freedom to provide quality, comprehensive, and affordable care," Paul said in a statement, reports the Lexinton Herald-Leader. "But putting nearly $10 trillion more in debt on the American people's backs through a budget that never balances is not the way to get there. It is the exact opposite of the change Republicans promised, and I cannot support it, even as a placeholder.Not only are we not cutting spending, but we are also proposing an increase at an exponential pace. There is no reason we cannot repeal Obamacare and pass a balanced budget at the same time."

This isn't the only objection Paul has raised to the GOP's plans this year. He has also been among the most vocal GOP legislators in opposing Republican leadership's "repeal and delay" strategy on Obamacare, which would repeal the law but leave it in place for several years while the GOP worked out a replacement plan. It looks as if Paul is deliberately taking steps to distance himself from the party and its leadership in order to preserve a measure of independence.

Paul isn't the only Republican to trash the GOP's budget plans either.

The House is expected to vote on its own budget resolution today, and Rep. Justin Amash (R-Michigan) says he's voting no because the plan would add far too much to the debt. "By nearly every measure," he wrote last night, the current proposal "is the worst budget I've seen as a congressman."

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Sen. Rand PaulRand PaulFreedom Caucus wants more ObamaCare repeal details before budget vote Overnight Healthcare: GOP leaders defend plan to delay ObamaCare replacement Schumer flubs Dems ObamaCare protest slogan MORE (R-Ky.) said Friday that President-elect Donald TrumpDonald TrumpDeVos confirmation hearing delayed Trump pick Monica Crowley faces more plagiarism accusations: report Sanders, Trump supporter spar over small business regulations MORE agrees with his proposal to repeal and replace ObamaCare at the same time, rather than roll back the law with no plan to move forward.

I just spoke to @realDonaldTrump and he fully supports my plan to replace Obamacare the same day we repeal it. The time to act is now. Paul tweeted.

I just spoke to@realDonaldTrumpand he fully supports my plan to replace Obamacare the same day we repeal it. The time to act is now.

Paul wrote in an op-ed earlier this week that it would be wise to vote on a replacement plan for the Affordable Care Act as the law is repealed.

"If Congress fails to vote on a replacement at the same time as repeal, the repealers risk assuming the blame for the continued unraveling of Obamacare. For mark my words, Obamacare will continue to unravel and wreak havoc for years to come," he wrote.

On Wednesday, Paul said he would vote against a budget resolution that paves the way for lawmakers to repeal ObamaCare because it is not balanced.

The Senate is expected to vote next week on a shell budget resolution that includes guidelines for repealing the Affordable Care Act.

He also told reporters that he would likely ultimately support ObamaCare repeal, even if it does not come with a replacement plan immediately.

Under the GOP repeal guidelines, four committees would have until late January to hand over their repeal proposals.

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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 MSNBCs 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.

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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.

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President-elect Donald Trump may be joining the growing ranks of Republicans in Washington who are getting cold feet aboutplans to rush through a vote to repeal Obamacare without a plan to replace it.

Trump called Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) this weekend to discuss Pauls push to convince the rest of the GOP not to vote later this week on a budget resolution that includes a framework for a vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act without a replacement plan. Paul said he spoke with Trump for approximately 15 minutes Friday and the two agreed on the need for replacement.

The only hitch: Republicans dont have one yet.

He showed willingness and openness and was interested in getting a replacement that could be passed as part of repeal, Paul said. Now, were trying to get a bill out there this week.

Paul said Trump didnt give additional details on what he would like to see in a replacement plan. Republican leaders have insisted in recent weeks that they are working on a plan that will help those who receive coverage through the Affordable Care Act to buy insurance on the private marketplace, but like Trump, few have offered any specifics.

Trump said Monday that he had no concerns about the lack of a plan or growing worries about repeal.

Not even a little bit. Thats going to all work out, Trump said Monday outside of Trump Tower in New York.

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) insisted to reporters last week that Republicans do have a plan just not one that is ready to be released this week.

We have plenty of ideas to replace it, Ryan said. Youll see, as the weeks and months unfold, what were talking about replacing it how we can get better choices with lower prices by not having a costly government takeover of health care, which is causing all this problem in the first place.

A growing number of Republicans have raised concerns in recent daysabout aggressively gutting major portions of the health-care law including eliminating penalties for people who do not have insurance and the federal subsidies that help people buy insurance in the coming months. Leaders have said those changes would not go into effect for several years to give committees time to pass a replacement.

Some Republicans, including Paul, have floated bits and pieces of a potential replacement, but there is widespread disagreement over who should be on Medicare and Medicaid and whether it is possible to promise that everyone who is insured under Obamacare will be able to find coverage under a GOP plan.

My view is that replacement should try to get insurance for as many people as possible, Paul said. The administration likes to say that 20 million people are covered now. Well, 85to 90percent of that number got Medicaid. Many were already qualified for Medicaid. So a lot of debate goes into these numbers.

Others,such as Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), have pitched plans that allow states more leeway. His plan would allow individual states to retain exchanges and would include a tax credit to help people buy insurance on the private market. Cassidy said Monday that he wants to move quickly to repeal onerous parts of the health-care law, such asthe requirement for individual health coverage, as long as there is a plan and timeline for completing a replacement.

As long as we have a sense of where were going, Im okay with that, Cassidy said.

The Senate is expected to vote this week on a budget measure that includes instructions for committees to write repeal legislation by the end of the month. But some Republicans are raising concerns that a replacement may never happen if it is delayed.

I think the vast majority of people believe were better off doing both at one time. The question is, can you really make that happen?Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) said Friday.

But it is far easier for Congress to pass a repeal bill than it is for itto pass any kind of replacement. Republican leaders are relying on special budgetprocedures to repeal Obamacare without the threat of a blockade by Senate Democrats.

Budget legislation can pass the Senate with a majority of 51votes rather than the normal 60 needed for almost everything else. There are 52 Republicans in the Senate, ensuring that a unified GOP can actwithout the help of Democrats.

But passing a replacement is another story. Any new health-care legislation would be subject to normal Senate rules meaning Republicans would need votes from at leasteight Democrats to get the new bill passed.

Were possibly creating a boxed canyon for ourselves by potentially repealing without replacing, Corker said. On the other hand, I realize the difficulties of getting the other way you need 60 votes, right? And I dont see a lot of appetite by Democrats to sit down and try to work some things through.

Democrats have said that they are not interested in helping the GOP dismantle President Obamas health-care law.

Show us what they are going to replace it with, not just one senator, said Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer(D-N.Y.) on Monday. Or they abandon repeal.

Sean Sullivan contributed to this report.

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