Ted Cruz Seeks to Use Reconciliation for One-and-Done Healthcare Bill

Ted Cruz has been working for weeks with a group in the Senate - as well as House Republicans and the White House - on a one-and-done healthcare bill that would employ reconciliation for passage, the Texas senator told the Washington Examiner.

In other words — no phases, no Democrats.

"Every one of the reforms reduces premiums and has a significant budgetary impact and therefore, under the terms of the statue, those reforms are permissible under reconciliation," Cruz told the Examiner.

The pillars to Cruz's plan?

• Cross-state insurance purchases.
• Medical malpractice reform.
• Health savings accounts.
• Expansion of association health plans.
• "Robust high-risk pools."

Cruz told the Examiner his meetings with other GOP senators will ramp up now that House Republicans passed the American Health Care Act last week — "an important step" Cruz said last week.

However, the Senate has been expected all along to rip up the House bill and start from scratch. But Cruz's goal is the same as conservative members of the House.

"The objective here, the test for success should be, are we reducing the cost of premiums?" Cruz told the Examiner. "And if we have succeeded, consumers will have more choices, more options, lower premiums and more ability to get health insurance and healthcare for their families."

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