One of the hottest topics in American politics has been, and still is, over how the country handles the health care system. During a debate over the issue on Wednesday night, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz faced off with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Debate night

The Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as "Obamacare," has been the law of the land for nearly seven years since it was made official by former President Barack Obama in March 2010. Following the inauguration of President Donald Trump last month, the new commander in chief has since signed an executive order to start the first steps of repealing Obamacare.

Despite the vow to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress have failed to produce a detailed plan to put in its place. On Tuesday night in Washington, D.C., Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz took part in a debate, where the senators gave their best argument over the future of health care in the United States. As reported by Politifact on February 7, Cruz was on the wrong side of the facts more often than not.

During the health care debate, Ted Cruz claimed that premiums have increased by nearly $5,000, though there is more to the story than meets the eye.

Citing a previous statement made by Vice President Mike Pence, PolitiFact rated Cruz's claim as just "Half-True." PolitiFact also pushes back at Cruz's statement claiming Blue Cross Blue Shield "cancelled" all health insurance plans in the state of Texas, which received a rating of "Pants on Fire" false.

Not stopping there, Ted Cruz went on to repeat a similar stat once used by former House Speaker John Bohener that claimed six million people lost their insurance plans because of the Affordable Care Act.

PolitiFact also fact-checked that statement, giving it a rating of "False."

Another claim made by the Texas senator was that Obamacare was causing full-time workers to be knocked down to part-time, though he wasn't as clear as he should have been.

PolitiFact went on to rate it "Half True." As the debate continued, Cruz focused on the most controversial aspects of Obamacare, while blaming Sanders for helping to write law, though the fact-checkers pushed back and rated the claim "False."

More facts

While Ted Cruz was hit hard by the fact-checkers, Bernie Sanders also had a few blunders, though not at many as the Long Star State senator.

Sanders claimed that every other industrialized nation in the world guarantees health care as a right, though it was rated just "Half True" by PolitiFact.

However, Bernie Sanders was correct when he said that the United States spends nearly "three times per capita what they spend in the U.K.," which received a rating of "True." The two went back and forth for the remainder of the evening, which only highlighted the wide political divide in the United States.
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