ICYMI: Sen. Cruz on 'The Sean Hannity Show'
Discusses efforts on healthcare reform and the HHS study on the Consumer Freedom amendment
July 19, 2017
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WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) today appeared on ‘The Sean Hannity Show,' following Senate Republicans' lunch at the White House. Sen. Cruz discussed his efforts repeal Obamacare and lower health insurance premiums, as well as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' recent report on the impacts of the Consumer Freedom amendment. According to the report, the Consumer Freedom amendment expands coverage by more than two million individuals, and reduces health insurance premiums by more than $7,000 per year.
Sen. Cruz emphasized the HHS's recent report on the effects of the Consumer Freedom amendment:
"HHS studied the Consumer Freedom amendment to assess what the impact would be and they compared it to Obamacare. The differences are striking. What they found is that the Consumer Freedom amendment, which is the amendment I drafted, which says you the consumer should have the freedom to choose the insurance that you want, to purchase what you want, it shouldn't be the federal government mandating what you have to buy. You should be able to decide what you and your family need and the way it works is if people want to buy plans that are subject to all the Obamacare mandates that can, there will still be those plans on the market, but they could also buy additional plans that meet their family's needs."
Sen. Cruz continued, "What HHS found is the Consumer Freedom amendment increases enrollment by 2.2 million people. In the year 2024, Obamacare, the baseline, is projected to be 13.9 million. With the Consumer Freedom amendment, 13.9 [million people insured] rises to 16.1 million people in the individual market. That's an increase of 2.2 million people that are additionally getting health insurance. But not only that, the impact on premiums is dramatic. HHS projected under Obamacare the average premium per person per month will be $840. Under the Consumer Freedom amendment, the average premiums for plans with the Obamacare mandates drop from $845 down to $380, which is a decrease of $5,580 a year and even more incredibly, the Freedom plans, the plans that are outside of the mandates, those dropped to $240 a month."
Sen. Cruz's full interview may be found here.
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