Cruz still missing opportunity on Health Care

"He who despises the word will be destroyed,
But he who fears the commandment will be rewarded."
Proverbs 13:13

In late March, we discussed an opportunity Ted Cruz was missing on health care.  While that's the first time we discussed it publicly, we'd floated it behind the scenes (including discussing it with Senator Cruz personally) several months prior.  It was intended to fill the vacuum in the national health care debate.  But, in the context of a potentially competitive re-election campaign, it makes all the more sense.

The TL,DR version is that, even all these years after Obamacare originally passed, there's no Republican plan to Fix Health Care.  We've had a couple of lukewarm "repeal Obamacare" proposals.  But nothing that would fix health care.

Fixing health care allows you to go to tell the general public "vote for me and your health care costs will go down by XX%."  We don't want to speculate on the specific amounts, but suffice to say "XX%" would represent significant double digit savings.  Significant enough that your average, apolitical, citizen would notice.

The outlines are obvious: Purchasing insurance across state lines, equalizing the tax treatment between employer provided and individually purchased insurance, expanding Health Savings accounts, relaxing or eliminating coverage mandates.  Cruz's policy team could arrange the details.  TPPF has plenty of Health Care research available here.

In the context of the current campaign, it makes even more sense.  Cruz making a major effort on health care would suck the oxygen out of the race for several days.  Bobby Francis would be forced to respond.  It would pull Bobby Francis into a policy discussion when it's obvious that Bobby Francis wants to keep it as vague as possible.

Imagine Cruz holding an early October roll-out event at TPPF.  He could re-focus on the failures of the current health care systems by telling the stories of Texans hurt by Obamacare.  He could explain how greater government involvement would make the current problems worse.  Where would that leave Bobby Francis?!?

Bottom Line: The opportunity's still there, it's up to Cruz if he wants to take it....