J. Scott Applewhite / AP
Sen. Rand Paul sent a letter on Tuesday to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, laying out his "policy priorities" for the senate's new health care bill:
- Allow small business plans or association health plans to self-insure.
- Reconsider the "insurance company bailout," which he says will come to $136 billion.
- Reconsider the premium tax credits policy proposed by BCRA.
- Remove the "Republican version of the individual mandate" and allow insurance companies to impose a waiting period.
Why it matters: Senate Republican leaders don't really think Paul was ever "gettable," but the letter is a good example of the lengthy lists of demands we're likely to see from other Republican holdouts — because they know they have leverage.
One more thing: Paul got face-time with Trump at the White House yesterday, tweeting that the President is "open to making [the] bill better."