Health care bill is an 'itsy bitsy' step in right direction, but it's not repeal: Mark Levin

Conservative talk radio host Mark Levin offered tepid praise for the health care reform bill passed Thursday on his show. Levin said it was a step in the right direction, but criticized many provisions in the law, saying it was substantively the same as Obamacare.

"Where's the great repeal of Obamacare?" he demanded. "There are some aspects that are repealed, but there are also some expansions. I already told you about the subsidies, a hundred and thirty-eight billion dollars. I also said that this is a step in the right direction.

"It's an itsy bitsy little step in the right direction, and it hasn't even gotten to the Senate yet," he said.

"Is that what they campaigned on? An itsy bitsy little step?" Levin asked. "The president says make no mistake, it's repeal and replace. It's not. Since 90 percent of the Obamacare infrastructure remains in place and all the mandates and regulations.

"It pays more ransom money to the insurance companies," he said. "I'm looking at, somebody writes here, '$8 billion for high risk pools.' No, it's more than that, it's a total, when you add it all up of a hundred thirty eight billion dollars. It's a massive slush fund."

Levin also criticized Trump for touting his tax cut plan, saying it was just a plan so far.

"It doesn't even exist, there is no tax cut yet. When this pathetic Republican leadership gets through your tax cuts, Mister President, then we'll compare your tax cuts to [Ronald] Reagan's tax cuts. Right now yours is a general proposal. His were law. So you cannot compare the Reagan tax cuts, a fact, a reality, with the Trump tax cuts, which are a proposal, which this Congress hasn't even acted on yet. And Reagan had to fight the Congress. He had to go over the head of Tip O'Neill and the Democrats in the House, which is exactly what he did."

Levin attacked a statement from House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) about the passage of the health care bill, demanding, "So how is it more patient-centered? How is it more patient-centered? It's not more patient-centered!"

Levin had been a great critic of Trump in the primary campaign, but has generally been supportive of the president after the election. His dissent on the Obamacare replacement will persuade many at a pivotal time when the bill goes to the Senate for consideration and approval.

Levin had praised Trump's "enormous humility" after the bill failed to go up for a vote, and put all the blame on Speaker Ryan and the GOP establishment.