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Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said Friday that one key element that needs to be included in the Senate healthcare bill is a connection between consumers and healthcare providers.

Paul is one of four Republicans who have said he can't support the bill, in part because it doesn't do enough to lower prices for consumers.

He also said the way people shop for Lasik eye surgery is a good example of how prices can drop when consumers are more involved.

"The reason capitalism doesn't work in healthcare is the consumer is disconnected from the product," Paul said on MSNBC. "Consumers do not make decisions based on price in healthcare, except for a few exceptions."

"Lasik surgery, when you want to get surgery to get rid of glasses, everybody asks the price," said Paul, an eye surgeon. "The average consumer calls four different doctors. It's a very sophisticated laser, million dollar laser, and yet the price has gone down by three-quarters over 15 years."

"When you connect the consumer and the consumer cares about the price, guess what? The consumer will shop, and when the consumer shops, competition works," he said.

But he said consumers mostly face fixed prices in other areas of healthcare.

"We're not really doing that in healthcare," Paul said. "Most of healthcare has fixed prices. Medicare, fixed prices. Medicaid, fixed prices. And even private insurance, no consumer shops for price."

Paul and another opponent of the GOP bill, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, have both suggested giving insurers the opportunity to offer cheaper plans that may not comply with Obamacare's strict rules as a way to lower prices for people.

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Rand Paul: Lasik surgery shows health prices fall when consumers can shop - Washington Examiner