Ted Cruz, Obamacare Hater, Peruses Obamacare Options for Wife’s Coverage
He nearly brought the cogs of Congress to a halt in 2013 over the Affordable Care Act, and now the Texas senator and GOP presidential hopeful is in the market for health insurance for his wife, Heidi, while he's on the campaign trail. This is a bit awkward.
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He nearly brought the cogs of Congress to a halt in 2013 over the Affordable Care Act, and now the Texas senator and GOP presidential hopeful is in the market for health insurance for his wife, Heidi, while he’s on the campaign trail. This is a bit awkward.
Also read: Ted Cruz Set to Launch Presidential Campaign Monday
Heidi Cruz has taken a leave of absence from her job at Goldman Sachs (!) to accompany her husband as he makes a play to replace President Obama in 2016, and thus she needs to purchase health insurance in the meantime. Looks as if Obamacare, which her husband fought long and hard to overturn — and pledges to deep-six should he win the presidential election — is going to make that possible for the Cruz family (via NBC News):
“We will in all likelihood get health care through my employment, which means you end up going on to the exchange and getting health insurance,” Cruz said during an appearance on the Mike Gallagher radio show Wednesday. Members of Congress without insurance are required to sign up through health care exchanges created by Obamacare because of an amendment to the law added by Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley.
However, Cruz said he would not accept a subsidy members of Congress are eligible for to help pay for coverage. “I’m going to purchase health insurance with my own funds for my family, like millions of Americans,” he said.
Cruz framed his choice to noisily and begrudgingly avail himself of the health insurance options made possible by the Affordable Care Act as not much of a choice. But as Think Progress pointed out Wednesday, Cruz isn’t exactly forced to slouch toward socialism if he doesn’t want to: “The Affordable Care Act does not compel members of Congress to enroll in DC’s health care exchange; it simply cuts off the government contribution to their insurance plans if they buy their policies elsewhere,” wrote TP’s Igor Volsky.
OK, fine. But let’s not confuse Cruz with the facts.
–Posted by Kasia Anderson
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