2012: Obama, Romney & Inevitability

Whether or not anyone prefers to acknowledge it, Mitt Romney is already the default, de facto Republican presidential nominee in 2012 – and, too, he is already the clear loser.

Health care, singularly, will guarantee Barack Obama a second term – even if he never actually achieves meaningful “reform,” or even if he manages reform but it ends up becoming a festering, hemorrhaging mess … like anything the government runs.

Sure, the health care issue appears to be a political landmine for Obama right now, but he just can’t lose for winning, and there’s no area in which that rings more true than health care reform.

Pitted against Romney (as ultimately will happen, because who else is there, really?), Obama will come out looking every bit the better man for the job.

As governor of Massachusetts, Romney socialized the state’s health care system, insuring nearly every resident by forcing people to choose between purchasing coverage or paying a penalty for non-compliance. (Yes, Romney’s a Republican; yes, he’s a business wizard; no, those traits don’t at all jive with his stateside socialization of a major private sector).

It’s been bad for business start-ups and expansions, but pretty good for people (well, not entrepreneurial people, but still …)

There is, naturally, a funding problem for Massachusett’s program, the solution for which would surely be increased corporate taxation, except that, um, that well has too run dry at the hands of Romney’s grand plan.

Anyway, the relative merits of Romney’s reform are not really the point. Even an entirely successful – fully-funded, business-friendly, quality-controlled, patient-primary – result would still leave Romney in the lurches come 2012.

Romney’s problem is, more to the point, that he’ll be running as a Democrat in disguise against a Democrat demagogue.

If there is to be one issue to set apart Republican from Democrat, it has to be health care. It’s one thing for a Republican politician to triangulate on the issue of health care reform – to mildly oppose it, then to begrudgingly admit its merits – but it’s a whole ‘nother thing for a Republican to endorse, initiate, and institute a socialized system of health coverage.

In 2012, two Democrats will be vying for the presidency, and one of those Democrats is Barack Obama. He just can’t lose.

RomneyCARE has ... problems.

“The former CBO director, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, warns today on the effect ObamaCare
will have on our economy and health care. …This bill will lead to a huge middle class tax increase:
The bill creates a new health entitlement program that the Congressional Budget Office
(CBO) estimates will grow over the longer term at a rate of 8% annually, which is much
faster than the growth rate of the economy or tax revenues.“

”When Barack Obama ran for president, he promised that his health care plan would
"lower health-care costs by $2,500 for the typical family." Now, it turns out that new
legislation that he supports creating public-private "co-operatives" will increase the costs
of family health insurance by $4,000 by 2019.”

”Robert Reich Reveals Brutal Health Care Truths; MSM Snores
"We're going to have to, if you're very old, we're not going to give you all that
technology and all those drugs for the last couple of years of your life to keep you
maybe going for another couple of months. It's too expensive...so we're going to let
you die."

”PriceWaterhouseCoopers concluded that the cost of health insurance for the average
family will rise by $4,000 by 2019, as compared with doing nothing:”

“DEATH PANELS OPEN FOR BUSINESS IN MASSACHUSETTS”

“President Obama's newly confirmed regulatory czar defended the
possibility of removing organs from terminally ill patients without their permission.”

“Customers will pay big for health fix: insurers”

“A major new report confirms the worst fears of many: Health care reform will raise the
costs for most Americans—by about 18% on average. That is on top of existing inflation of health coverage.”

“You can’t reap these savings without limiting patients’ choices in some way," said Paul Levy, CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess.”

“State plan may place limits on patients’ hospital options( Mass. RomneyCare )”

"Romney Visits Nebraska, Talks Health Care [where he defends Romneycare] “

“The WSJ Guide to ObamaCare. A comprehensive collection of our editorials. "

"Paying the Health Tax in Massachusetts [Romneycare]
Massachusetts requires every resident to have health insurance, and this
year, without informing us directly, the state had changed the rules in a way that made
our bare-bones policy no longer acceptable. Unless we ponied up for a pricier policy we
neither need nor want—or enrolled in a government-sponsored insurance plan—we
would have to pay $1,000 each year to the state.
How did we become outlaws? “

"National Health Preview - The Massachusetts debacle, coming soon to your neighborhood."
It was only a matter of time.
They're trying to manage the huge costs of the subsidized middle-class insurance program that is gradually swallowing the state budget.
The program provides low- or no-cost coverage to about 165,000 residents, or three-fifths of the newly insured, and is budgeted at $880 million for 2010, a 7.3% single-year increase that is likely to be optimistic.
The state's overall costs on health programs have increased by 42% (!) since 2006."

A Very Sick Health Plan; Bay State’s ‘Grand Experiment’ Fails [RomneyCare]
"Initiated on Mr. Romney’s gubernatorial watch in 2006, this “experiment” has fallen on hard times, and predictably so. “

"Hospital patients 'left in agony'"
"Patients were allegedly left screaming in pain and drinking from flower vases on a nightmare hospital ward.
She said: "We saw patients drinking out of..."

Health care in Massachusetts: a warning for America [Romney brings Mass. to its knees]
The Bay State's mandatory insurance law is raising costs, limiting access, and lowering care.
Three years ago, Massachusetts adopted a plan requiring all residents to purchase health
insurance, with state subsidies for lower-income residents. But rather than creating a
utopia of high-quality affordable healthcare, the result has been the exact opposite –
skyrocketing costs, worsened access, and lower quality care."

"‘Severe’ doc shortage seen hiking wait time
“The shortage is getting more severe”"

“Health costs to rise again.( RomneyCare )
The state’s major health insurers plan to raise premiums by about 10 percent next year,
prompting many employers to reduce benefits and shift additional costs to workers.”

“Woman bleeds to death after doctor punctures jugular - and no blood is available(UK) "

“Canadian Aboriginals receive body bags for flu

Health officials ordered an investigation Thursday into why the Canadian government
sent body bags to an Aboriginal reserve in Manitoba after community leaders requested
assistance to deal with an expected outbreak of swine flu. “

“45% Of Doctors Would Consider Quitting If Congress Passes Health Care Overhaul
Two of every three practicing physicians oppose the medical overhaul plan under
consideration in Washington, and hundreds of thousands would think about shutting
down their practices or retiring early if it were adopted, a new IBD/TIPP Poll has found.
The poll contradicts the claims of not only the White House, but also doctors' own lobby
— the powerful American Medical Association “

“Nation’s ill-advised to follow Mass. plan [Health plan a failure]
September 17, 2009 The canary is dead.
Massachusetts, the model for the ObamaCare universal insurance plan, is the canary in
the health care coal mine. Yesterday, its obit appeared on the front page of both The Wall
Street Journal and The Boston Globe-Democrat “

"Patient with ulcer collapses and dies after paramedics tell her: 'Stop being a drama queen'"

"Doctors said I'd had a miscarriage and did nothing as my premature baby fought for his life"

"British Death Panel IBD Editorials September 10, 2009
Single Payer: In Britain, where the public option is about all most patients get,
a newborn has died because national guidelines recommend that the baby not be treated."

"Obama health care plan projected to cost 5.2 million jobs
In addition wages would be “stunted” for another 10.2 million wage earners."

"Is This The Obamacare Future? Overworked Doctors in Australia Worried They Are Killing Patients
there are long waiting lists for orthopedic surgery (median wait for total hip replacement is 88 days;
10% of patients waited over 345 days in 1999 to 2000), and cataract surgery (median is 73 days; 10% waited more than 316 days)."

"Bay State Insurance Premiums Highest in Country - Boston Globe August 22, 2009
Massachusetts has the most expensive family health insurance premiums in the country,
according to a new analysis that highlights the state’s challenge in trying to rein in medical costs
40 percent higher than in 2003. Over the same period, premiums nationwide rose an average of 33 percent..."

"Bed shortage forces 4,000 mothers to give birth in lifts, offices and hospital toilets"

"Oregon Offers Terminal Patients Doctor-Assisted Suicide Instead of Medical Care
PORTLAND, Ore. — Some terminally ill patients in Oregon who turned to their state for health care
were denied treatment and offered doctor-assisted suicide instead
"[How could they] not pay for medication that would help my life, and yet offer to pay to end my life?"

"Sentenced to death on the NHS ….
they can then have fluid and drugs withdrawn and many are put on continuous sedation until they pass away.

"Massachusetts: the laboratory for ObamaCare“

"Obama Health-Care Would Drive Up Inflation and Health-Care Costs
ObamaCare would shrink the economy, drive up health-care costs and inflation,
and increase the deficit,
Overall, total federal expenditures will be 5.6 percent higher than otherwise by 2019, adding $285.6 billion to the federal deficit in 2019”

"Pushing Veterans Toward the Grave”

"NHS blunders allowed cannibal Peter Bryan to kill two”

"Massachusetts' Obama-like reforms increase health costs, wait times [RomneyCare]
Premiums are growing 21 to 46 percent faster than the national average"

"Mass. Pushes Rationing to Control Universal Healthcare Costs (RomneyCare)
A 10-member Massachusetts state healthcare advisory board unanimously recommended
that the state begin rationing healthcare to keep the state’s marquee universal health care program afloat financially.”

"1,000 cancer patients 'refused treatment'"

"Massachusetts Universal Healthcare System Breaking Down Already
ERs in Massachusetts have not seen a downturn in visits. On the contrary, it seems that ER visits are actually on the upswing in the Bay State. In fact, in 2007 they were higher than the national average by 20 percent...”

"Hospital patients 'left in agony'"

"Paramedics told: 'Let accident victims die if they want to' in new row over patient rights (UK)"

"National Health Preview - The Massachusetts debacle, coming soon to your neighborhood.
In Massachusetts's latest crisis,
They're trying to manage the huge costs of the subsidized middle-class insurance program that is gradually swallowing the state budget.
The program provides low- or no-cost coverage to about 165,000 residents, or three-fifths of the newly insured, and is budgeted at $880 million for 2010, a 7.3% single-year increase that is likely to be optimistic.
The state's overall costs on health programs have increased by 42% (!) since 2006
Mr. Romney should have known better before signing on to this not-so-grand experiment, especially since the state's "free market" reforms that he boasts about have proven to be irrelevant when not fictional.
Only 21,000 people have used the "connector" that was supposed to link individuals to private insurers."

A Very Sick Health Plan; Bay State’s ‘Grand Experiment’ Fails [RomneyCare]
… fiscal troubles aplenty within Repubican Mitt Romney’s brainchild, Massachusetts’ “grand experiment” in “universal” health care."
"Initiated on Mr. Romney’s gubernatorial watch in 2006, this “experiment” has fallen on hard times, and predictably so.
Even though the Bay State commenced its program with a far smaller percentage of uninsured residents than exists nationwide,
“RomneyCare” is threatening to bankrupt the state.“

"Dem Congresswoman Admits Obama Health Care Plan Will Destroy Private Health Insurance Industry"

"Romney’s mistreatments a sick man, as Gov. Mitt Romney meets a medical marijuana patient"

"Patients Forced To Wait Hours In Ambulances Parked Outside A&E Departments"

"Cancer survivor confronts the health secretary on 62-day wait (UK)"

"Hospital patient so shocked at dirty ward she climbed out of bed to clean it herself."

"Kidney cancer patients denied life-saving drugs by NHS rationing body NICE (UK) "

"Girl, 3, has heart operation cancelled three times because of bed shortage (UK)."

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