Ted Cruz, Obamacare nemesis, to sign up for Obamacare
Sen. Ted Cruz, arguably one of Washington's most outspoken opponents of Obamacare, will be signing up for health insurance through the government program he despises so much.
"We'll be getting new health insurance and we'll presumably do it through my job with the Senate, and so we'll be on the federal exchange with millions of others on the federal exchange," Cruz told CNN.
Ironically, the Texas Republican finds himself reliant on the Affordable Care Act indirectly because of his announced 2016 presidential bid (which includes a promise to attempt to repeal "every word of Obamacare").
Cruz previously obtained health insurance coverage through his wife Heidi Cruz's employer, Goldman Sachs. However, that's no longer an option now that Heidi Cruz has gone on unpaid leave to help with her husband's presidential campaign.
Thanks to a Republican-added provision of the Affordable Care Act, members of Congress get their employer-sponsored insurance coverage through the Obamacare marketplaces.
Since getting elected to the Senate in 2012, Cruz has taken the lead in the ongoing efforts to dismantle the health care law. In 2013, Cruz was blamed in part for the 16-day government shutdown after he urged Republicans to oppose a government funding bill that included money for Obamacare.
When he announced his presidential bid on Monday, Cruz urged voters to "imagine in 2017 a new president, signing legislation repealing every word of Obamacare."
This article was corrected to note that Cruz was elected in 2012, not 2010.