GLENN: The Right Scoop is reporting today, Ted Cruz is trying to repeal and replace Obamacare, all in one bill. Ted Cruz is now doing, according to The Right Scoop, what we all envision should have happened. The Washington Examiner says, a member of the Senate Republican health care working group is working to build support for an alternative to the House-passed Obamacare bill, one that will allow cross-state insurance purchases, includes medical malpractice reform, health savings accounts, and the expansion of association health plans. Ted Cruz is the one doing it. He's been working behind the scene for weeks with now 13 member group of G.O.P. senators on an Obamacare repeal and replacement plan that would eliminate the need for a second phase of legislation and replace the failing health care law.
I mean, I can't imagine it's going to happen because it just sounds right. It just sounds good. And when was the last time we saw anything right or good come out of Washington?
Did you know this, Stu?
STU: No. I mean, that's a good -- that's a good turn of events. It seems to come from that source fairly regularly.
GLENN: I believe only meaningful health care reform will be through reconciliation said Cruz. I think the answer very simply is to put it all in one bucket. Pass everything under reconciliation. It requires 51 votes. He believes the provisions can be included in the reconciliation member, without running afoul of the Senate rules. Every one of the reforms reduces premiums and has significant budgetary impact, and therefore, under the terms of the statute, these reforms are permissible under reconciliation.
STU: Yeah. I mean, I think that's great. Right? This is the complaint we've had about this for a while: It's -- you know, it's -- we're starting negotiation from a losing position. Which is odd, right? You're supposed to --
GLENN: The problem, the G.O.P. wants those big, huge parts. They want this big government health care plan. They're not fighting for what we're fighting for.
STU: Right. That's why it won't happen, right? But it's so amazing to see the reaction of these things. I mean, look at the -- the Jimmy Kimmel thing is an interesting emotional part of the last couple weeks of debate. Jimmy Kimmel.
JEFFY: Boy, no kidding.
STU: His son, daughter, son -- I can't remember. He had a baby. Had serious heart issues.
GLENN: Uh-huh.
STU: And had to be rushed to the hospital.
GLENN: Uh-huh.
STU: And the way, you know, Kimmel had a really emotional monologue, where he felt really terrible for him and he discussed about these problems.
GLENN: Yeah.
STU: Where he's landed -- and, again, he's been a long-time liberal. He landed on basically making this into a health care debate. We have to give people health care. How can millionaires like me have money and people don't have health care?
And it's amazing to see this reaction. They act as if this plan the G.O.P. has provided is the most hateful thing that has ever been done. Number one, Obamacare has only existed for a few years. Number two, it's been incredibly unpopular the entire time it's been in existence, until very recently when the campaign sort of kicked into gear. Number three, the situation now, even if you went to the G.O.P. plan, would be a far leftward move from what we had in 2008. So you're not talking about some long-time thing that we've always had and all of a sudden you're pulling it away from them. You're talking about something that we don't have the money to pay for. Is not operating at all. And is about to self-destruct. And it needs to be fixed. What the G.O.P. is doing is not repealing Obamacare. They're trying to reform it and fix it. And they will fix it in some areas. It will hurt in other areas.
But the issue here is, we aren't even considering trying to fix this in a free market way.
GLENN: No.
STU: It's just, how much money do we take from one group and give to the other group? Democrats want to do more, and conservatives -- or, Republicans want to do less. And, by the way, we should also note that even in the fact-checking -- you want to read a fact-check of Jimmy Kimmel's little rant.
GLENN: Uh-huh.
STU: Get down to about paragraph seven or eight and what you'll see is, no matter Obamacare or not, his baby would have had surgery. If he had $0 or if he has a billion dollars.
GLENN: Of course. Of course.
STU: Of course, that's left out. And it's buried down at the end.
GLENN: Of course. I know. It always is.
JEFFY: It's always!
STU: But that's always been the case.
