Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) and Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) butted heads in a Wednesday Obamacare debate on the CNN show "Crossfire."
O'Malley and Perry, who have both signaled potential 2016 presidential campaigns, agreed that the health care system is "broken," but disagreed whether Obamacare helps.
"Why would we want to put thousands, tens of thousands of people on a system that's broken?" Perry asked. "It's Washington, D.C., forcing the states to meet all of these standards. And that's why we've said, 'no thank you.'"
O'Malley said the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has been "responsive," and Maryland has received flexibility in implementing the Affordable Care Act.
“You should come to the National Governors Association meetings again,” O’Malley told Perry. "I know Texas seceded from the National Governors Association, but if you came, you might be able to learn from the other governors that are actually implementing [Obamacare], doing it well, and actually doing a better job of supporting an innovation economy and their workers’ well being.”
The disagreement led to a gubernatorial showdown over how to define success.
"The bottom line's gonna be by seeing which of these states succeed as we go into the future," Perry said. "Right now, on job creation, Texas is leading the march."
"On schools and median income, Maryland is leading the march," O'Malley retorted. "On innovation, Maryland is leading the march."
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