Yahoo – AFP,
24 March 2015
US Senator Ted Cruz announces his candidacy for the Republican nomination to run for US president March 23, 2015 at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia (AFP Photo/Paul J. Richards) |
Washington
(AFP) - Senator Ted Cruz is among America's most vocal opponents of
"Obamacare," but the newly-announced presidential candidate is
reportedly about to sign up for the health care program he loves to hate.
"We
will presumably go on the exchange and sign up for health care and we're in the
process of transitioning over to do that," Cruz told The Des Moines
Register on Tuesday.
One day
earlier, the 44-year-old freshman senator became the first major Republican
politician to formally declare his campaign for the White House.
In his announcement
speech, Cruz proclaimed that if elected he would repeal "every word of
Obamacare."
Meanwhile,
he is signing up for the coverage as a requirement for members of Congress.
The
lawmaker's family has been covered under the plan held by his wife Heidi Cruz
through her employer Goldman Sachs.
But Cruz
told the Register that his wife is going on an unpaid leave of absence to join
him full time on the campaign trail.
The health
care exchanges that Cruz would join became law under the Affordable Care Act
(ACA).
They
constitute an online marketplace where small businesses, and individuals
including the uninsured, can purchase health coverage.
As a US
lawmaker, Cruz will choose his insurance through the DC Health Link small
business market.
According
to federal guidelines, members of Congress receive a "government
contribution" if they purchase coverage through the ACA.
Asked
whether he would accept the government contributions, Cruz told CNN he will
"follow the text of the law."
He reiterated
his intent to keep fighting for a full Obamacare repeal, even though some
Republicans have "quietly and privately given up on that fight."
The ACA
came into effect five years ago Monday.
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