Ted Cruz says Senate health care bill’s passage ‘precarious’

Austin American-Statesman (TX)

July 06--SAN ANTONIO -- U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Thursday he's hopeful but unsure whether his Republican colleagues can reach consensus on a health care bill.

One thing's for sure, though, Cruz said: Republicans will pay a big price in 2018 if they don't repeal the Affordable Care Act.

"I think it'd be catastrophic. For seven years, we told voters over and over again: 'If you elect us -- the one thing you know about us -- if you elect us, we'll repeal Obamacare,'" the former presidential candidate told San Antonio talk radio host Trey Ware on Thursday morning. "I think we look like laughingstocks if we can't get our act together and actually do what we said we would do."

Before Congress' July recess, a handful of Republican senators, including Cruz, opposed the health care reform bill put forward by Senate leaders, which would eliminate Obamacare's mandate that most Americans have health insurance and would make deep cuts to Medicaid. Younger Americans would still be allowed to stay on their parents' plan until age 26, and insurers wouldn't be allowed to deny coverage because of pre-existing conditions, the two most popular aspects of Obamacare.

Because of the narrow GOP majority in the Senate -- with uniform Democratic opposition, Republicans can afford to lose only two GOP votes -- the small number of Republicans opposing the bill was enough to derail a vote.

Cruz, who is traveling the state to discuss health care and veterans' issues, said if Republicans focus on lowering premiums, there could be just enough support to pass the bill. His proposal: amend the bill with "consumer freedom" language that allows insurers to offer cheaper, less comprehensive policies that would appeal to healthier people -- as long as insurers also offer a plan that adheres to all Obamacare rules.

"If you want that kind of coverage, you can buy it," Cruz said. "But don't make everybody buy it."

Critics say Cruz's plan would increase premiums for people who would keep Obamacare plans, in effect creating a high-risk pool, because people who don't need that level of coverage won't purchase it. Cruz told the San Antonio Express-News that tax subsidies would increase as premiums do and that billions of dollars in stabilization funds would go directly into state exchanges.

Senate leaders have asked the Congressional Budget Office to analyze the impact Cruz's provision would have on the federal budget and insurance coverage. The White House, meanwhile, is backing the proposal.

Whatever the end result is, it'll be done only with Republican votes. Senate Democrats have been "hard no's" on GOP proposals, Cruz said. But Democrats have tried to help, said U.S. Rep. Gene Green, D-Houston. Green said he and Democratic colleagues have proposed improvements to the Affordable Care Act, but Republicans weren't and aren't interested.

"Republicans didn't want to fix it," Green, ranking member on the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Health Subcommittee, told the American-Statesman. "They wanted to repeal it."

Cruz's plan would lower costs, but people will lose coverage too, he said.

"People know what they're buying" with Obamacare, Green said.

Cruz emerged on the political scene as an insurgent candidate, campaigning against the Affordable Care Act. Now, with health care as the biggest policy issue in the country, he's playing the issue like an insider.

"I am feeling hopeful. We're not there yet, and it is precarious," he said in the radio interview. "The majority is so narrow. I don't know if we get it done or not. I believe there is an agreement to be reached, and what I'm trying to do is bring everyone to the table and figure out ways that we all can get wins that are meaningful for our constituents."

Cruz was scheduled to speak at a town hall event at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Renaissance Austin Hotel in Northwest Austin hosted by Concerned Veterans for America.

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