U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) said in a recent interview that tariffs, rather than health care, are the dominant concern among his constituents, while offering a proposal to help small businesses access more affordable insurance.

Speaking with Bloomberg TV, Paul said, “Most of our conversations at home have been with people affected by tariffs. The number one issue I get wherever I go in the state is tariffs are killing the family farm, tariffs are killing the bourbon industry, tariffs are killing the cargo transport industry.”

The #1 concern I hear at home isn’t shutdowns… it’s tariffs.

Tariffs are crushing Kentucky’s family farms, bourbon makers, and shipping jobs.

Bad policy hurts working Americans. We don’t need more government handouts — we need freedom to trade and compete. @BloombergTV pic.twitter.com/eFE42ZmYUO

— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) October 8, 2025

An Idea: Buying Health Insurance Through Costco

On health care, which is a main point of contention in politics for the federal government shutdown, Paul said small business owners who do not participate in the Obamacare exchange struggle to obtain affordable coverage.

He proposed allowing Americans to purchase insurance through large membership organizations like Costco, which he said could negotiate lower prices for its 44 million members.

Paul also criticized government subsidies for health insurance, saying the money must be borrowed and ultimately leads to inflation that erodes workers’ paychecks.