(CNSNews.com) - Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) says he would "repeal every word of Obamacare" and replace it with a three-point plan that is "personal, portable and affordable."
At the Republican debate Thursday night in Des Moines, Fox News moderator Bret Baier asked Cruz, "If you repeal Obamacare, as you say you will, will you be fine if millions of those people don't have health insurance? And what is your specific plan for covering the uninsured?"
"First of all, we have seen now in six years of Obamacare that it has been a disaster," Cruz responded. "It is the biggest job-killer in this country. Millions of Americans have lost their jobs, have been forced into part-time work, have lost their health insurance, have lost their doctors, have seen their premiums skyrocket.
"If I'm elected president, we will repeal every word of Obamacare."
(The audience applauded.)
"Now, once that is done, everyone agrees we need healthcare reform. It should follow the principles of expanding competition, empowering patients, and keeping government from getting in between us and our doctors.
"Three specific reforms that reflect those principles. Number one, we should allow people to purchase health insurance across state lines. That will create a true 50-state national marketplace which will drive down the cost of low-cost, catastrophic health insurance.
"Number two, we should expand health savings accounts so people can save in a tax-advantaged way for more routine healthcare needs.
"And number three, we should work to de-link health insurance from employment so if you lose your job, your health insurance goes with you and it is personal, portable and affordable.
"And I'll tell you, Bret, I think that's a much more attractive vision for healthcare than the Washington-drive, top-down Obamacare that is causing so many millions of people to hurt."