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The Senator called the Republican-backed repeal of the Affordable Care Act "Obamacare Lite." Marty Pearl/Special to C-J

Senator Rand Paul spoke to a group gathered in the St. Matthews Community Center on Monday about the process of overhauling the Affordable Care Act. 3/20/17(Photo: Marty Pearl/Special to The C-J)Buy Photo

Senator Rand Paul vowed to vote "No" on a Republican-backed plan to repeal-and-replace the Affordable Care Act, adding that he doesn't currently think the GOP has enough votes to pass the legislation that he calls "Obamacare Lite."

Speaking to an invite-only crowd at the St. Matthews Chamber of Commerce's "Legislative Coffee" event, the Kentucky Republican said he feels the plan doesn't do enough to fix flaws in the current version of the federal health care law, which is also known as Obamacare.

"We've been talking about 'Let's Make America Great Again.' Let's determine how we got great in the first place. And why we are so wealthy as a country is freedom freedom of the marketplace, free to trade with your neighbor, and the government doesn't determine the price. That's what we need to do with health care," Paul said to the crowd of more than 100 local business owners and politicians.

During a news conference followingtheevent, Paul specifically detailed his concerns with the legislation championed by Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, saying he feels it would increase insurance costs andcause continued losses for insurance companies. He added that he feels it doesn't do anything to get new people insured.

"I don't think they have the votes to pass it right now. If the conservatives stay solid, the bill will be at least temporarily defeated and then the real negotiations begin," Kentucky's junior senator said. "Conservatives will only have a seat at the table if they can stop the initial Ryan plan from going through."

Senator Rand Paul clarifies statements made during a stop at the St. Matthews Community Center on Monday. 3/20/17(Photo: Marty Pearl/Special to The C-J)

Paul said he wants health care to place more of an emphasis on competition and choice, and that his biggest concern is continued reliance on an individual insurance market. He said he envisions a network of associations such as the St. Matthews Chamber of Commerce which could provide health insurance, as well as the expanded use of health savings accounts.

Paul headed to Washington D.C. following the event, just hours before President Donald Trump plannedto speak at a campaign rally at Freedom Hall. Trump and Paul have disagreed in recent weeks over the Trump-backed repeal-and-replace effort.

Paul said that he was headingback to Washington D.C. because "I've got to work." He said that he welcomes the president to Kentucky a state where he got 62.5 percent of the vote during the 2016 Presidential Election.

"I've got to get to Washington so I can work on the coalition that is trying to defeat the bill," the senator said. "We're not exactly on the same page on this. I do think ultimately that we are on the same page in that we want repeal of Obamacare. I think that there's not unity onreplacement,though."

Reporter Justin Sayers can be reached atjsayers@gannett.com or 502-582-4252. Follow him on Twitter at @_JustinSayers.

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