Romney plays down health care [As RomneyCare proves to be big gov boondoggle]

Concord Monitor ^ | Nov 18, 2007 | By MARGOT SANGER-KATZ

[Jim Robinson]

Romney plays down health care

As Massachusetts governor, he tackled universal coverage

As governor, Mitt Romney signed the country's first comprehensive attempt at universal health coverage. On the presidential campaign trail, he has not put health care reform at the top of his agenda, nor has he embraced the central goal of the Massachusetts plan - universal coverage - as an appropriate target for the country.

The story sounds like classic stump-speech material.

A business leader and friend of then-Gov. Mitt Romney suggested he could make his mark if he solved Massachusetts's health care woes. Romney, a former consultant, took up the challenge, crunched the numbers and developed a framework for insuring nearly everyone in the commonwealth. Two years later, through an impressive feat of bipartisan cooperation between the governor's office and the legislature, he signed the country's first comprehensive attempt at universal health coverage.

"An achievement like this comes around once in a generation," he said on the day he signed the bill in April 2006.

[50mm]

Take care of illegal immigration, and your argument against Romneycare is moot.

You're arguing against your own point here. The problem with socialist healthcare is that it's just one more magnet attracting more illegals to the US.

The answer is to end socialism completely in the US so the illegals will go home willingly!

[Jim Robinson]

What part of government “forced” and “subsidized” do you not understand? How many hundreds of millions is RomneyCare already over the government’s proposed budget of expenses?

[bw17]

How do you figure? Illegal immigrants ought to be treated at the ER, and once stabilized, deported. Then guard the border properly so they don’t get back in.

[Clint Williams]

If you want to add commentary, put it in brackets *after* the actual headline.

No. *I* insist that title commentary be placed within % marks, so that all FReepers can tell it is commentary!

[Maneesh]

You are a voice of sanity on this thread. There are too many purists on this issue who refuse to deviate from their idealistic position. The current system has socialized medicine via free ER visits / medicare / medicaid BUT forcing these freeloaders to buy their own insurance is socialism ? I am afraid on this issue logic will not convert anyone because they automatically call Romney care socialized medicine without looking at the facts.

[Lancey Howard]

"And the only way you can, in good conscience, eliminate free-loaders at the ER is to require that everyone...."

You sound like a big-government liberal, so I guess Romney is your man.

[bw17]

How many hundreds of millions is it over?

And what Democrat-added provisions were added after Romney left office to put it over budget? It was not over budget when he left.

[Maneesh]

The insurance premiums are subsidized only for the very poor with incomes under the federal poverty lines. These folks are already subsidized by many govt programs. Anyone above the federal poverty line has to PAY for their own insurance which is a major improvement and will create fewer free loaders. I have plenty of insurance plans to choose from and go see any doctor in any hospital which would not be the case in socialized medicine.

Bottom line: the number of subsidized people goes down with Romney care. I am all for banning all govt subsidized health care but until that happens this a move in the right direction. Anytime fewer people are supported by the govt that is a move that I support as a strong proponent of personal responsibility.

[VeniVidiVici]

It is socialized medical care. They are FORCING people to particpate.

The problem is, is that they are making exceptions as to who pays. Mass has decided to create a group that will continue to get free healthcare and NOT have to buy a policy.

Guess what will happen in the very near future? I’ll even give you a chance to answer before I point out the obvious.

[Lancey Howard]

Wow I did not expect that from him so I did not think to check!

How disappointing

How moronic. I did check, and Jim used the same original title the source used, so if you did a search it would come up. As for the parenthetical addition to the thread title, that's a common way around here (for freepers who have been around awhile) to make a personal editorial statement or further clarify what the thread is about. Big deal. If you're so disappointed, go cry in your milk about it.

[50mm]

How do you figure? Illegal immigrants ought to be treated at the ER, and once stabilized, deported. Then guard the border properly so they don’t get back in.

You need to reread my ER post. I wasn't exaggerating about the runny noses and stubbed toes. The illegals treated before me weren't there because of an emergency, they were there for the "free" care. A paying US citizen was on the floor in agony while illegals were getting free bandaids and Pepto Bismol.

After I finally got the narcotics to treat my pain so I could talk again, I asked the ER doctor to give me a percentage of patients he sees who are real emergencies. He said 5 to 10%. The rest are there for free care that primary care physicians won't provide. How will socialistic Romneycare fix that?

[ConservativeMind]

Explain what? The fake headline that Jim Robinson fabricated for this thread?

Are you literate? The title IS the article’s title. Jim put parenthesis in for his separate comment.

In other words, why play up during a primary a health insurance plan to woo social conservatives who really aren’t interested, rather than wait until the general election when it is an issue he can use to lure independents?

In other words, Romney must hide his true self because his own party would revolt.

People with your attitude help make Romney look like a kook.

[bw17]

Well said.

[ConservativeMind]

So, for the first numbers out on the policy FROM LAST YEAR, you are crediting changes made during the course of nine months of THIS YEAR?

You are speaking some crazy words there!

[Maneesh]

Only people below the federal poverty line are subsidized. These people are already covered by medicaid / medicare etc. In Romney care everyone above the poverty line have to PAY for their own premiums. So the number of freeloaders goes down. IS mandatory auto insurance socialism too in your view ?

[nd2bfree]

from what I have found it basically is wipping out the small insurers in favor of the six largest. Plus if this plan is so succesful why hasn’t MSM splased it all over? To easy to punch holes in I guess. to think socialism used to be tied to the left wing-nuts of the dems now its has spread to the repubs.
Ahhhh the nannay state.

[liberty or death]

Allowing any government(state or fed) to decide the “poverty line” means this is a socialist program from the beginning. Danger, danger, run Will run!

[perfect_rovian_storm]

You are speaking some crazy words there!

And they're in this strange, nonsensical, order, vaguely reminiscent of pig latin.

[Cyber Liberty]

Usually very little punctuation involved either. Go read restornu’s previous posts, there's a strange mind at work there. You’d think random words are just strung together, but there seems to be a direction it’s all heading. I think it might be a church thing or something, because it speaks in code from hymnals.

[Maneesh]

That is a bigger issue. A whole bunch of social programs are run based on the poverty line which I agree is bogus. However the impact of this program is still less freeloaders which is a good thing. Next we have to cut off health care to illegals and then make it a national market place for health insurance. Then the states can pick the cheapest bare bones plan that the poor get as freeloaders. We will have the poor subsidized by the govt so let’s lower the cost of that subsidy to the truly poor legal citizens and have all the rest of us pay for health care. If we can get it down to this, that will be huge victory but we will never have an idealistic situation but the poor have no govt program to help them.