Price Tag Expected on Obamacare Replacement Bill; Interview with Governor Matt Bevin of Kentucky
BLACKWELL: Republican lawmakers are bracing for news on their replacement plan for Obamacare.</s>PAUL: In fact, tomorrow, the Congressional Budget Office is expected to score the GOP bill and this is a bill that's already making its way through Congress despite not yet receiving a score by the CBO. A recent S&P Global Report though predicts as many as 10 million people will lose coverage under this.</s>BLACKWELL: Vice President Mike Pence is working to sell the plan to skeptical Republicans, Republican-led states that were able to ensure more people under Obamacare. One of those states, Kentucky. Now, on Friday, the state's governor, Matt Bevin, said he was not impressed with the GOP version of this law.</s>GOVERNOR MATT BEVIN (R), KENTUCKY: Senator Paul has ideas of things he thinks it needs to be a lot stronger. He is not as impressed with what has currently been offered as some who currently offered it. Truth be told, I'm not either. So, I'm with him, I think there are things that need to be done. We don't need another version of the same thing.</s>BLACKWELL: Well, hours later, Governor Bevin released this statement, and it reads in part, here's the quote, I just finished a highly encouraging conversation with the White House during which we discussed additional flexibilities that can be given to states in addition to what is currently included in the repeal and replace reconciliation bill. So, post-Pence, what does the governor think of this plan? Well, let's ask him. Governor Bevin is with us now. Good morning to you.</s>BEVIN: Good morning to you as well.</s>BLACKWELL: So, after the governor, where are you on the bill?</s>BLACKWELL: Oh, after the visit from the vice president, my apologies. Go ahead.</s>BEVIN: Yes, I mean, absolutely. You and I both have that issue. I'm delighted that he is now the vice president. I'll tell you this, I'm at the same place that I was before, and that is this, that initial comment was taken very much out of context. What I said is that is the beauty of the democratic process. Of course, there are differences as to what the exact details should look like. There is 100 percent agreement, however, among Republicans, that we need to repeal Obamacare, 100 percent agreement, 100 percent unanimity.</s>BLACKWELL: So, when you say --</s>BEVIN: So to that end, the key is where are the differences and how are we going to accomplish those reconciling those parts between now and when this is done? The reconciliation process, the companion legislation and then administrative regulations and procedures, those are the three parts to getting to the end solution -- I think we're well on track.</s>BLACKWELL: But, Governor, both you and Senator Paul were aware that this was a three-pronged approach, and when you say that, quote, things need to be a lot stronger, what do you think needs to be as you characterize it, a lot stronger?</s>BEVIN: Sure. First of all, we've got to make sure that we repeal and replace at the same time because states need flexibility as it relates to handling the Medicaid portion. In Kentucky alone, nearly one-third of Kentuckians are on Medicaid. So, it's a significant impact on our budget and in our population. We want at the end of the day to not compromise health care outcomes. Coverage is not the point. Simply giving people a plastic card is not the point. The point is to create a healthier population and better health outcomes. That must be the focus. So, what would I like to see? I'd like to see more flexibility at the state level. I'd love to see governors being given more autonomy over what they do regulatorily and as it relates to what percentages of the federal poverty level they might be able to go up to while having either expanded or unexpanded Medicaid. These types of things have got to be done. I'd like to see also this requirement to have compliance, not to be given to 50 different states. To me, that's irresponsible. And the idea that every state would develop their own I.T. module funded by the federal dollar is silly. Come up with a single set at the federal level and allow states to use those tools, a single set of tools that they could use, simple things like this. We're not far apart. It does need to go. Obamacare is a failure. Everyone has agreed on that, including in Kentucky where I can assure you with absolute no doubt, that this is not working in Kentucky, it's an abject failure.</s>BLACKWELL: All right. Governor, let's talk about the timing of this. Senator Cotton this week said that this all moving a little too quickly. Let's remind people of the time line of the passage of Obamacare, a plan introduced in July of 2009. CBO released its score three months later in October. We are less than a week into this and we're expecting it to be released tomorrow. House approved it in November, Senate in December, and the president signed it in March of 2010. Do you agree with Senator Cotton that this is moving too quickly?</s>BEVIN: Number one, I appreciate the sense of urgency. It's not as if we didn't know this wasn't coming. I mean, the reality is, we have been talking about this for years and years and years. There have been proposals and conversations going on for years and years. Now, those conversations are being reconciled and brought to the forefront. So, I'm not concerned that this is going too quickly. If you remember, when it was done under the timeline you just described, nobody saw it. Nobody saw it.</s>BLACKWELL: But if Republicans --</s>BEVIN: Nancy Pelosi famously said we needed to pass it -- we needed to pass it to see what was in it. So, this is much more transparent.</s>BLACKWELL: Forgive me, Governor, but if Republicans knew -- if Republicans knew that this was coming, why is it taking such -- why is it such a heavy lift to get Republicans onboard to the same proposal?</s>BEVIN: Because this is a transparent process, unlike the last time when it was done in a back room and people thought they needed to pass it to see what was in it. This is transparent and when you have 435 representatives in the House and 100 senators on the other side, and 300-and-some-odd million American people all being able to weigh in and give their two cents worth, of course, there's going to be differences of agreement. But again, on the Republican side, there's absolute agreement that Obamacare is a failure and it needs to be repealed and it needs to be replaced. It needs to be gone. So --</s>BLACKWELL: Understood. The what next is the question that needs to be answered. I want you to response what a fellow governor out of Connecticut, Dannel Malloy, said -- what he said to our Ana Cabrera last night here on CNN. Watch.</s>GOV. DANNEL MALLOY (D), CONNECTICUT: It will take insurance away from millions of people. It will gut Medicaid. It will cause people to lose their lives. It will cause hospitals to close. It will close other clinics to close. I'm in my 60s, if I was to go to the marketplace under this plan, I would have to pay probably about $8,000 more for my coverage. That's what we're doing, folks. Everyone wake up and understand that this is repeal and replace with the emphasis on repeal and really not replace. What they're going to do is make you sicker.</s>BLACKWELL: In addition to what we heard from the governor, the AMA, the American Medical Association, AARP, several other organizations have come out against this bill. You say to them what?</s>BEVIN: A couple things. Number one, stop the drama. Stop the misrepresentation of reality. This argument that suddenly if you were to replace this, the costs are going to go up. Like what, they have not been of late? I mean, let's think about this -- we were lied to and told that costs were going to go down, people can keep their health care providers and doctors. The exact opposite has happened. And now, to pretend if we were to go back to some variation of what we had or even something better that costs are going to go up, that's the reason? That's nonsense. Number two, the idea that people are going to die in the streets and they all -- I don't think he used in the streets, that's essentially what he is implying -- is that suddenly, there's going to be, you know, health care mayhem in America, nonsense. Only half the counties in Kentucky even have a single provider at this point, and we have huge players like Humana and Aetna and others that are frankly leaving the exchange, as United and others have done so. The fact is the system is failing. And this idea that somehow that keeping this broken system is the only solution is absolutely not correct.</s>BLACKWELL: All right. Governor Matt Bevin of Kentucky -- thanks for being with us on</s>NEW DAY. BEVIN: Thank you.</s>BLACKWELL: All right. Two leaders of Congress coming up later this morning on Jake Tapper -- "STATE OF THE UNION" with Jake Tapper. John McCain on the show to talk about his next step to take on the president over Russia, and Cory Booker, senators both, to talk about the Democrats' plan to challenge the new health care proposal. That's "STATE OF THE UNION" with Jake Tapper today at 9:00, right here on</s>CNN. PAUL: And still to come, the Trump administration's officials shielding the president from questions from the media. Why the president's recent dodging and ducking of reporters is raising some new concerns. Stay close.