Ted Cruz, Bernie Sanders Debate Obamacare on CNN

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) debates Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on the future of Obamacare live at 9:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN on Tuesday night.

Scheduled for 90 minutes and moderated by CNN’s Dana Bash and Jake Tapper, the debate features questions from the audience.

Senator Sanders will defend Obamacare, while Sen. Cruz will argue that Obamacare has not fulfilled its promise to allow patients to keep their doctors and lower premiums for consumers.

The two will spar over competing visions for healthcare in America. Bernie Sanders, who lost to Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries, campaigned on expanding Obamacare, arguing that America should switch to a singe-payer health care system. Senator Bernie Sanders led a late-night fight against Obamacare repeal in the Senate in January.

Sen. Sanders has expressed concerns about the Republican plan for Obamacare on the Senate floor saying, “I know I speak for virtually all Democrats in saying that we have a deep concern about the Republican proposal, which would repeal the Affordable Care Act without having any alternative plan in place.”

The Vermont senator also voiced concerns about Americans losing health insurance and decreased funding for Medicaid that might result from a Republican health care overhaul.

Ted Cruz, a runner-up in the primary race against President Trump, calls the repeal of Obamacare the “most exciting” policy of the Republican administration.

Senator Cruz has been one of Obamacare’s biggest detractors. The Texas senator led a dramatic fight to repeal Obamacare in 2013, and campaigned against Obamacare during the 2016 Republican presidential primaries.

Cruz introduced legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act, saying,“When we repeal Obamacare, we will rein in out-of-control health care costs and rejuvenate the number and quality of health care choices – but our job won’t be complete until we fully return health care decisions and dollars to American families and their health care providers. Unwinding the harms of Obamacare begins now by fully repealing the law and starting over with commonsense, patient-focused reforms that put patients and their doctors back in the driver’s seat.”