# Ted Cruz is going on Obamacare. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 24, 2015, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-is-going-on-obamacare/715899 "2015-03-24T21:42:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-is-going-on-obamacare/715899/21 "2015-03-25T03:19:42Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > But the law makes the exchanges the best deal. I might think there would be a BETTER deal if the law didn’t exist, but those deals aren’t available. > > This is really stupid, and you should know better. It’s the old: How can you accept Social Security payments if you’re opposed to it? Well, duh… I had to pay into it all my working days whether I agreed with it or not. But Social Security is something you pay into, for decades. Cruz hasn’t paid anything into any medical plan. Nobody “owes” him anything that he’s already paid for. He’s simply shopping for insurance, and if he believes in private insurance, in principle, he should act on that principle, not on whatever is the best deal. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-is-going-on-obamacare/715899/22 "2015-03-25T03:41:29Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > His wife should have reconsidered quitting her job, and relinquishing her employer-sponsored insurance . . . or gotten a COBRA policy. Millions of people on Obamacare don’t have that option. Does anybody know why she’s taking a leave? Is there a conflict of interest or is she expected to play the Good Republican Wife for a while? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-is-going-on-obamacare/715899/23 "2015-03-25T05:04:09Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > But Social Security is something you pay into, for decades. Cruz hasn’t paid anything into any medical plan. Nobody “owes” him anything that he’s already paid for. He’s simply shopping for insurance, and if he believes in private insurance, in principle, he should act on that principle, not on whatever is the best deal. It is private insurance. That’s what you get in the exchanges. He is, in fact, turning down an insurance subsidy from the government he could get as a Congresscritter. Did you even read your own cite? > [@](#): > > Under the Affordable Care Act, members of Congress and some designated congressional staffers are required to obtain health care coverage through the D.C. Health Link Small Business Market. The Office of Personnel Management’s guidelines state that lawmakers and their staff receive a “government contribution” if they get health care coverage through the ACA. > > But some lawmakers have declined to accept the contribution, saying they do not want to get special treatment. After the interview, a Cruz spokesperson clarified that he wouldn’t take the contribution. I got my Anthem/Blue Cross policy through an exchange. I think you don’t understand what the exchanges are. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-is-going-on-obamacare/715899/24 "2015-03-25T05:33:54Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > It is private insurance. That’s what you get in the exchanges. He is, in fact, turning down an insurance subsidy from the government he could get as a Congresscritter. Did you even read your own cite? > > I got my Anthem/Blue Cross policy through an exchange. I think you don’t understand what the exchanges are. What I don’t understand is this: Doesn’t his plan as a senator already have the option of including his spouse? Most employer health plans do that, don’t they? Or was he himself always “on Obamacare” from the start? I don’t get it. ETA: I get it now. He was on his wife’s plan before. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-is-going-on-obamacare/715899/25 "2015-03-25T05:38:26Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > That is sooooooo going to ruin his chances of winning the presidency… Those were ruined when I issued my decree that no Republican shall ever again be elected to the Presidency of the United States of America. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-is-going-on-obamacare/715899/26 "2015-03-25T05:42:45Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > But the law makes the exchanges the best deal. **I might think there would be a BETTER deal if the law didn’t exist** , but those deals aren’t available. Why might you think that? ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-is-going-on-obamacare/715899/27 "2015-03-25T10:43:08Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > But the law makes the exchanges the best deal. I might think there would be a BETTER deal if the law didn’t exist, but those deals aren’t available. What? The very fact that the exchanges have produced better deals is evidence that Obamacare law is working. And the law created these exchanges. So by what mechanism would a better deal exist in the absence of the law? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-is-going-on-obamacare/715899/28 "2015-03-25T13:16:31Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > It is private insurance. That’s what you get in the exchanges. He is, in fact, turning down an insurance subsidy from the government he could get as a Congresscritter. Did you even read your own cite? > > I got my Anthem/Blue Cross policy through an exchange. I think you don’t understand what the exchanges are. I’d think that someone who has been so vehemently opposed to the exchanges would be turning to the private sector (COBRA, for now) for his insurance. Yes, he’d pay more, but he’d be avoiding the perception of hypocracy . . . even without the subsidy. Cruz is an accomplished politician, and he should understand that this type of inconsistency can be fatal. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-is-going-on-obamacare/715899/29 "2015-03-25T13:22:11Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > But the law makes the exchanges the best deal. I might think there would be a BETTER deal if the law didn’t exist, but those deals aren’t available. I agree that there probably would be a better deal if the law didn’t exist. This obviously impacts you, but you are not Ted Cruz, and probably don’t have his financial status. Considering his vehement opposition to Obamacare, getting the best deal should not be his top priority. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-is-going-on-obamacare/715899/30 "2015-03-25T14:07:23Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > is she expected to play the Good Republican Wife for a while? This, AFAICT. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-is-going-on-obamacare/715899/31 "2015-03-25T14:28:28Z")
Her leave from Goldman Sachs also helps - a little - in keeping that firm out of the public discussion it so richly deserves. ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-is-going-on-obamacare/715899/32 "2015-03-25T14:30:54Z")
**John** says: It’s not reasonable to expect him to just stop having health insurance for himself and his family. Virtually every Republican politician has assured me that just not having coverage is a very reasonable option. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-is-going-on-obamacare/715899/33 "2015-03-25T14:42:14Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > That is sooooooo going to ruin his chances of winning the presidency… Winning yes, but remember, they’re Republicans, so they can’t think that far ahead. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-is-going-on-obamacare/715899/34 "2015-03-25T14:51:18Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > What? The very fact that the exchanges have produced better deals is evidence that Obamacare law is working. And the law created these exchanges. So by what mechanism would a better deal exist in the absence of the law? Wait, are you saying there is no possible system that could produce lower premiums than Obamacare? Correct me if I’m wrong, but that’s how your post reads to me. And, of course, there is more to healthcare than the premium you pay for health insurance. The point I was trying to make is that there is no hypocrisy in going to the exchanges for insurance even if you oppose Obamacare. That’s the system we have, and if that offers you the best choice, then take advantage of it. But that is not to say there couldn’t be a better choice under some other system. In my case\*, Obamacare almost certainly pushed my existing premiums higher, and forced me into the exchanges if I wanted to have a premium that was similar to what I had prior to the enactment of that law. So, did I get a “deal” from Obamacare? No. My coverage is not quite as good as it was before (deductible and copays, for instance). \*And I know I am in the minority, and we knew going in that the small minority of people like me were going to pay more under Obamacare. I’m self-insured, and healthy. In fact, I’ve never had a health insurance claim in my adult life (if you don’t count dental for routine check-ups). ---
**Author:** ![buddy431](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6a8cbe/32.png) [@buddy431](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddy431)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-is-going-on-obamacare/715899/35 "2015-03-25T15:20:03Z")
There’s no hypocrisy in taking the best option, even if you disagree with how it came about. When Warren Buffett wrote an op-ed that taxes should be raised on the wealthy, he didn’t get told that he should personally pay extra if he thought that way (well, actually he did, but it was a stupid argument then too). There’s a lot of things I disagree with Ted Cruz about, but I won’t hold acting legally, ethically in his own self-interest against him. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-is-going-on-obamacare/715899/36 "2015-03-25T15:36:07Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Why is he an asshole for obeying the law? Because he is a republican. To these retards Cruz putting his socks on in the morning makes him an asshole just because he is not in lock step with their world view. > [@BigT](#): > > If Obamacare is bad, he should be willing to just take what his job offers him, as that’s what he’d have to do without Obamacare. But he’s not. You’re not paying attention again. Cruz is taking what his job offers him. It’s his wife who is going on the greatest thing of all time. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-is-going-on-obamacare/715899/37 "2015-03-25T15:39:36Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Wait, are you saying there is no possible system that could produce lower premiums than Obamacare? Correct me if I’m wrong, but that’s how your post reads to me. And, of course, there is more to healthcare than the premium you pay for health insurance. No, I’m not saying this. But throwing out the claim that a better deal _might_ have been possible–when rather conveniently, such a deal never manifested in all the years prior to the law–strikes me as a empty statement. So again, I ask, by what mechanism do you suppose a better deal would have occurred in the absence of government intervention? On an aggregate level (meaning, not looking at individual users like yourself but the population as a whole) market forces alone didn’t bring about this better deal, so it looks like you’re taking it on faith that this would’ve happened. > [@](#): > > The point I was trying to make is that there is no hypocrisy in going to the exchanges for insurance even if you oppose Obamacare. That’s the system we have, and if that offers you the best choice, then take advantage of it. \*\*But that is not to say there couldn’t be a better choice under some other system. \*\* The whole Republican outcry about Obamacare is based on the idea that it’s less competitive than other systems. So if Cruz is choosing Obamacare because it offers the best choice, that’s an indictment on the alternatives. > [@](#): > > In my case\*, Obamacare almost certainly pushed my existing premiums higher… How do you know your premiums weren’t destined to go up regardless of Obamacare? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-is-going-on-obamacare/715899/38 "2015-03-25T15:44:05Z")
Double check to see we are not in General Questions or another less robust forum. check. Ted’s goose is cooked. His Canadian Goose. He will be subject to death panels like the rest of us now! ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-is-going-on-obamacare/715899/39 "2015-03-25T15:51:47Z")
> [@buddy431](#): > > There’s no hypocrisy in taking the best option, even if you disagree with how it came about. When Warren Buffett wrote an op-ed that taxes should be raised on the wealthy, he didn’t get told that he should personally pay extra if he thought that way (well, actually he did, but it was a stupid argument then too). > > There’s a lot of things I disagree with Ted Cruz about, but I won’t hold acting legally, ethically in his own self-interest against him. Of course there’s a hypocrisy to it. Yet again we find people trying to argue an equivalence between something liberals do and something conservatives do. There isn’t one, Rafael Cruz is a hypocrite, full stop. I’m sure Warren Buffett would be fine with higher taxes. So would I, because I’m not living in poverty. That doesn’t mean I know how to just give the government extra money or where it would go once it gets there. Cruz and his cabal are calling Obamacare every name under the sun, from slavery to socialism to fascism or some evil harbinger of the End Times. But oh shit! Now that they have access to it, its fine? Fuck that. If it were legal for me to murder kids, I wouldn’t go on a murdering spree just because I’m allowed to. Cruz is basically saying that the Satan-inspired plan that’s going to send America to the Dark Ages again is pure evil, but sure let me save a few bucks because its ok to be evil for a while. While it may be legal, its definitely not ethical by his own standards. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-is-going-on-obamacare/715899/40 "2015-03-25T16:37:59Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > At least he’s not pulling a Dick Mack. I still can’t believe they added that to the McDonald’s dollar menu. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-is-going-on-obamacare/715899.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-is-going-on-obamacare/715899.md?page=3)