BAIER: Gentlemen, the next series of questions deals with ObamaCare and the role of the federal government.
Mr. Trump, ObamaCare is one of the things you call a disaster.
TRUMP: A complete disaster, yes.
BAIER: Saying it needs to be repealed and replaced.
TRUMP: Correct.
BAIER: Now, 15 years ago, uncalled yourself a liberal on health care. You were for a single-payer system, a Canadian-style system.
Why were you for that then and why aren’t you for it now?
TRUMP: First of all, I’d like to just go back to one. In July of 2004, I came out strongly against the war with Iraq, because it was going to destabilize the Middle East. And I’m the only one on this stage that knew that and had the vision to say it. And that’s exactly what happened.
BAIER: But on ObamaCare…
TRUMP: And the Middle East became totally destabilized. So I just want to say.
As far as single payer, it works in Canada. It works incredibly well in Scotland. It could have worked in a different age, which is the age you’re talking about here.
What I’d like to see is a private system without the artificial lines around every state. I have a big company with thousands and thousands of employees. And if I’m negotiating in New York or in New Jersey or in California, I have like one bidder. Nobody can bid.
You know why?
Because the insurance companies are making a fortune because they have control of the politicians, of course, with the exception of the politicians on this stage.
But they have total control of the politicians. They’re making a fortune.
Get rid of the artificial lines and you will have…
2.)Cruz: At the very last debate, he said if your a republican voter that don't support socialized medicine then you are heartless, then you want to let people die in the streets.
HAM: In the Democratic primary, Hillary Clinton has criticized Bernie Sanders’ plan for single payer government health care, noting it would require big, across the board tax increases for Americans. In doing so, she’s doubling down on Obamacare, despite its persistent unpopularity.
Mr. Trump, you have said you want to appeal Obamacare. You have also said, quote, “Everybody’s got to be covered,” adding, quote, “The government’s going to pay for it.” Are you closer to Bernie Sanders’ vision for health care than Hillary Clinton’s?
TRUMP: I don’t think I am. I think I’m closer to common sense. We are going to repeal Obamacare.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: We’re going to repeal Obamacare. We are going to replace Obamacare with something so much better. And there are so many examples of it. And I will tell you, part of the reason we have some people laughing, because you have insurance people that take care of everybody up here.
I am self-funded. The only one they’re not taking care of is me. We have our lines around each state. The insurance companies are getting rich on Obamacare. The insurance companies are getting rich on health care and health services and everything having to do with health. We are going to end that.
We’re going to take out the artificial boundaries, the artificial lines. We’re going to get a plan where people compete, free enterprise. They compete. So much better.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: In addition to that, you have the health care savings plans, which are excellent. What I do say is, there will be a certain number of people that will be on the street dying and as a Republican, I don’t want that to happen. We’re going to take care of people that are dying on the street because there will be a group of people that are not going to be able to even think in terms of private or anything else and we’re going to take care of those people.
And I think everybody on this stage would have to agree...
(BELL RINGS)
... you’re not going to let people die, sitting in the middle of a street in any city in this country.
(APPLAUSE)
RADDATZ: Senator Cruz, to that point, Mr. Trump has said that your position on health care means that maybe you’ve got, quote, “no heart”. There is a question here, though, about uncovered folks. You suggested repealing and replacing Obamacare. As we learned with President Obama’s broken promise that everyone could keep their plan, any major plan — change in health care policy carries with it the risk that some people will lose their insurance coverage or have to change it.
How do you reassure that those people that repealing and replacing Obamacare is still in their best interest?
CRUZ: Well, let me take two different parts of that. Let me start with socialized medicine. Socialized medicine is a disaster. It does not work. If you look at the countries that have imposed socialized medicine, that have put the government in charge of providing medicine, what inevitably happens is rationing.
You have a scarcity of doctors. You have rationing. And that means the elderly are told, we’re going to ration a hip replacement, we’re going to ration a knee replacement. We’re going to ration end- of-life care.
We’re right now heading into a medical system with about a 90,000-doctor shortage in America and socialized medicine; whether proposed by the Democrats or proposed by a Republican would hurt the people of this country.
What should we do on health care? If I’m elected president, we will repeal every word of Obamacare.
(APPLAUSE)
CRUZ: And once we do that, we will adopt common sense reforms, number one, we’ll allow people to purchase health insurance across state lines that will drive down prices and expand the availability of low cost catastrophic insurance.CRUZ: We’ll expand health savings accounts; and we will de-link health insurance from employment so that you don’t lose your health insurance when you lose your job, and that way health insurance can be personal, portable and affordable and we keep government from getting in between us and our doctors.
I would bet my bottom dollar that The Trump Organization self-insures and contracts with a company like Cigna to manage the claims. I'm not aware of any company that size that doesn't. And because of that restrictions on selling across state lines doesn't impact Trump or his company.
I read that transcript. How does Cruz’s plan differ from Trump’s?
Rush just told us how the insurance companies signed on to Obamacare because of the fortune they make. He just quoted Trump.
“doctor shortage”
My neighbor’s daughter is a physician assistant. She is doing so well she got ~$20,000/raise after a few months. Her patients are getting better because she is a lovely person loved by her patients who are glad to follow her advice and directions.
I don’t trust anyone who says “people dying in the streets”.
What a Alinsky-like statement.
You know you are cutting out the quotes where Trump said the Scotland system was at a different time and it wouldn’t work here.
Now why would you do that?
CruZ gave the best plan on healthcare and his answers are more in depth. He is right when he says socialized medicine leads to rationing. He also supports selling insurance across state lines and repealing every word of ObamaCare.
Now as far as insurance companies making much more money, I’m not sure of that. If they’re making so much money, why are they dropping out of the state exchanges?