Commentary: EL PASO, TEXAS -- Despite overwhelming bipartisan approval of protections for those with pre-existing conditions, Ted Cruz continues to throw his full support behind unwinding them and repealing healthcare for Texans. According to ABC News, “One Republican senator so far has signaled he’s supportive of” a lawsuit that would gut protections for those with pre-existing conditions: Ted Cruz.
While Texas already leads the country in the rate of uninsured individuals, it’s also a state where half of nonelderly adults have pre-existing conditions. More than 11.5 million Texans under the age of 65 live with at least one. Only one state in the nation has a greater amount. This includes those living with diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, asthma, heart disease and cancer. The number of Texans who received healthcare thanks to protections for those with pre-existing conditions include more than 780,000 in Harris County, 454,000 in Dallas County, 386,000 in Parker and Tarrant Counties and 321,000 in Bexar County.
“Every single Texan should be able to see a doctor and receive the care they need, not as a function of luck or circumstance but as a fundamental right,” said Congressman Beto O’Rourke. “Taking aim at protections for those with pre-existing conditions would cause millions of Texans to lose their ability to do exactly that at a time when our state already has the highest uninsured rate in the nation.”
Last summer, Cruz led the effort to gut protections for those with pre-existing conditions. This includes introducing an amendment that would have once again allowed insurers to charge Texans with pre-existing conditions more for healthcare or deny them outright. This comes from the senator who shut down the United States government for 16 days in 2013 by declaring, “I intend to speak in support of defunding Obamacare until I am no longer able to stand.” Today, the junior senator continues to say that, “we need to repeal every word of it.” In doing so, he continues to threaten healthcare for millions of Texans.