WATCH: Bernie Sanders Debates Ted Cruz in Cable Showdown on Obamacare

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By Daniel J. Solomon February 8, 2017

Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz took the stage Tuesday night for a historic debate over Obamacare, where the two senators gave voice to two very different visions for American health care.

Both agreed on the need to change the status quo in the health care sector, but that’s about where the agreement stopped, as the two went back and forth and took questions from the audience.

Sanders, a Vermont senator, advocated the adoption of a single-payer system akin to Medicare in which the government would administer a universal health insurance program that would remove private insurers from the equation.

Cruz, a senator from the Texas, called for the introduction of greater market competition into the system, with individual health savings accounts and easing of regulations around medicine development.

The debate may be more than just must-see TV for wonks. If the Republicans repeal Obama’s Affordable Care Act, they may find themselves forced to find some solutions of their own.

Contact Daniel J. Solomon at solomon@forward.com or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon

Daniel J. Solomon is the former Assistant to the Editor/News Writer at the Forward. Originally from Queens, he attended Harvard as an undergraduate, where he wrote his senior thesis on French-Jewish intellectual history. He is excited to have returned to New York after his time in Massachusetts. Daniel’s passions include folk music, cycling, and pointed argument.

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