Posted on 07/09/2009 6:05:03 PM PDT by rabscuttle385
Former GOP Governor Helped Make 2006 Reform Reality.
BOSTON -- Three years after the inception of Massachusetts landmark health reform legislation, which required every citizen to buy insurance, NewsCenter 5s Ed Harding wondered what former Gov. Mitt Romney, a key political architect of the plan, thought of its progress. Call it protecting his legacy, well-earned pride, or seeing the glass as half-full, but Romney says Massachusetts deserves an A.
Its working like we had hoped it would work, the one-time republic presidential candidate said. We got nearly everybody in Massachusetts health insurance, which really, something people didn't think was possible.
Romney said the same can be done nationwide, though he concedes what many in the Bay State are grappling with now, that the hardest part of the reform debate is controlling costs. It is projected that within a decade health care will account for 20 percent of all money spent in the United States.
Currently, health care accounts for between 17 and 18 percent of the United States gross domestic product.
Its huge, said Romney. Weve got two challenges. One is to get everybody insured. Believe it or not that's the relatively easy job. The other job is to reign in the inflation associated with health care. We can do that too but it's a lot of work.
Romney points to a recent analysis by the pro-reform Massachusetts Taxpayers Association, showing that since near-universal coverage was implemented in 2006, state taxpayers have had to shell out an additional $88 million per year to insure an additional 430,000 citizens.
Some people say. Oh, it's expensive, but actually, it cost less than two percent of the state budget.
Romney is closely following the reform debate in Washington, DC, and pointed to President Barack Obamas proposal for a government-run so-called public plan option as a big mistake.
The current system with over 1,000 insurers in this country, is perfectly capable adequate to provide choice to people in America, Romney said.
The former governor declined to answer when Harding asked if health care is a right of a privilege in the United States. He did insist, however, that on a national level politicians ought to be able to create a system where every citizen has health insurance.
“I think we need a mix of Romney and Huckabees ideas”
Oh sure. Let’s complete the Republican castration.
Health care in the USA needs 2 things
1)Serious Tort reform
2)Left alone!
Overdose of Ex-Lax...
He's a Democrat....
bump
It makes him look bad alright. Putting the GOP stamp on socialized heath care. Hopefully anyone thinking of voting for him in 2012 will get the memo instead of engaging in apologetics.
Those are good ideas too.
My wife IS a doctor.
Litigation reform is state issue, not a federal issue.
That is the conservative answer.
You are right but how do we get this reform, state by state when the Obozo group is in the pocket of the malpractice lobby?
I believe California has had tort reform, right?
The Dhims are not in charge of most state legislatures.
And I don’t care what happens in liberal states. They deserve what they get.
Excellant points...thanks for the education.
As long as your choice is NOT to carry health insurance.
Some choice.
And many try and pass this guy off as a conservative. Only other RINO’s will believe that.
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