Ted Cruz
says he has to accept Obamacare because it's the law. See, his wife is taking unpaid leave from her job at Goldman Sachs for the duration of the presidential campaign, and is giving up her health insurance there. The health insurance that has been covering the whole family. Now, Cruz says, he has no legal choice but to take Obamacare because Obamacare is making him do it.
Except it's not. What the law demands of members of Congress is not that they get their health insurance through Obamacare (unless they have Medicare or coverage from a spouse). It just says that if they do get their health insurance from a plan that's not on an exchange, they don't get a sweet taxpayer subsidy to help pay their premiums.
In other words, Cruz "could purchase coverage in the outside market but would get no subsidy from the FEHBP program," Tim Jost clarified for ThinkProgress, referring to the acronym for the federal health care program. "It seems like the primary other option he would have is to take advantage of COBRA through his wife, though he'd be forgoing the employer contribution. He could also buy non-group coverage," Larry Levitt, Senior Vice President at the Kaiser Family Foundation, said. Cruz could also potentially purchased insurance through his presidential campaign's presumptive health care insurance. In those instances, however, he would have had to give up his employer's contribution and likely pay more for insurance than he is now being charged under Obamacare.
Keeping his wife's Goldman Sachs plan would make the most sense, except that it would be hugely expensive for the family. It also seems like "Everyman" Cruz is pretty intent on
distancing himself from the bank, since he's been attacking them.
But my money is on Cruz just being a cheap bastard who wants the American people to help pay for him and his family to have insurance on the program that he insists is unconstitutional and wants to do away with.
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