Fox News political commentator Charles Krauthammer predicted Thursday that healthcare in the U.S. is headed toward a single-payer system.

“The terms of [the healthcare] debate are entirely on the grounds of the liberal argument that everybody ought to [have insurance]. Once that happens, you're going to end up with a single-payer,” Krauthammer said on Fox News’s “Special Report with Bret Baier.”

“Republicans are not arguing the free market anymore,” he said. “They have sort of accepted the any commodity. It's not like purchasing a steak or a car. It is something people now have a sense that government ought to guarantee.

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"I would predict that in less than seven years we'll be in a single-payer system. I think that's the great irony of this."

House Republicans on Thursday took the first step in overhauling the nation’s healthcare system, passing legislation aimed at repealing and replacing ObamaCare.

The bill now heads to the Senate, where Republicans have already signaled they will make changes to the plan.

Krauthammer said that the Senate will not likely accept the healthcare legislation as it stands.

The GOP can only lose two votes in the Senate and still pass the plan.

"[The Senate] will come up with the plan of its own and go to conference, but who knows where it's going to end up, but it's going to be a rickety arrangement," he said.

Watch the video above to see his full comments.