Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., opened a debate over healthcare by asking his opponent Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to work with him to transform Medicare into a single-payer system.
Cruz, who once orchestrated a government shutdown in 2013 opposing Obamacare, instead asked Sanders to help him “take on Big Pharma” by boosting approvals from the Food and Drug Administration.
“We are the only country on Earth that lets private insurance companies run the system,” said Sanders during the debate on CNN on Obamacare’s future.
Sanders’ plea for bipartisanship came after Cruz pointed to insurance company profits as a problem with Obamacare, noting that profits increased from $8 billion in 2008 to $15 billion in 2015.
“You’re getting less coverage, you’re paying for it,” Cruz said.
