Cruz Throws Cold Water On GOP’s ‘Three-Pronged’ Obamacare Repeal Plan

Photo by: Dennis Van Tine/STAR MAX/IPx 7/20/16 Ted Cruz at day 3 of The Republican National Convention. (Cleveland, Ohio)
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Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Tuesday offered a reality check to top Republicans who have been touting a three-part plan to repeal and replace Obamacare, arguing that the third phase will never come to fruition.

“Anything placed in so-called bucket three will never pass,” he told reporters, according to The Hill. “If we want to pass real reforms we have to do it now on budget reconciliation.”

Cruz said that the third part of the plan, a piece of legislation that would need 60 votes in the Senate, would not win Democratic votes.

“The position of Senate Democrats has been blanket obstruction,” the Texas senator said, per The Hill.

His comments echoed those made by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) on Tuesday morning, who also warned that Republicans cannot rely on additional phases to perfect their replacement for Obamacare.

Republicans have been promising that the bill unveiled by House Republicans last week is only the first of three phases of a plan. Following passage of that legislation, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price would issue regulations, and Republicans would push another piece of legislation with similar reforms, top Republicans have said. Price cited these additional phases on Tuesday while brushing off the Congressional Budget Office projection that millions will lose their health care due to the legislation.

“What the report looked at was only one third of our plan. And that’s why you can’t look at this in isolation,” Price said on NBC’s “Today.” “The fact of the matter is, with our whole plan, every single American will have access to coverage.”

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