Trump got to the issue, studied it, got some wise advise and NAILED IT !!
Not one of the others had said definitively they'd get rid of the mandate. That's a crucial step. Because of it, a person goes to get medical care, and the provider chooses the most profitable available option..
Example: what is this with people in their late 80s and 90s getting replacement shoulders, hips, and knees? Several around here know of someone who died of the infection they got in the hospital stay for the surgery.
As I understand RomneyCare before the MA Legislature got their hands on it, was a plan were if you didn't buy a policy you had to post bond of either 10k or 100k as your self insurance ( and also this was a Heritage Foundation thing to begin with ).
This takes us back before what the MA Legislature did which IMHO is a good thing.
Cruz did. Repealing every word is getting rid of the mandate.
BOOM!