Hypocrite Series: Romney on Health Care

I know it seems like I've been picking on Democrats in this series of articles, but the real reason for that is that the Republicans seem unwilling to say anything of any substance. Well, Romney finally stepped in it in the Republican debate. I didn't watch it on television so I've been catching up to it in clips on the Internet. Here's Romney's answer on Health Care:



Asked about the Massachusetts health care reform he signed into law and helped author, Romney said this:

I love it. It's a fabulous program.

He goes on to say:

But I helped write it and I knew it well, and this is a country that can get all of our people insured with not a government takeover, without Hillary care, without socialized medicine. Instead, get the market to do its job. Let people have health care that they can afford. Get the market to do its job. Let people have the opportunity to choose policies in the private sector.

And to add a little weight to the argument:

We didn't expand government programs. We didn't raise taxes. There was no government takeover. The market can work to solve our health care needs, and that's the great, exciting news.

Just to sum up, Romney said the market can solve our health care needs and that the Massachusetts universal coverage law is great. Okay, let's look a little at reports about that law. From the Washington Post (story link):

The Massachusetts legislature approved a bill Tuesday that would require all residents to purchase health insurance or face legal penalties...

Okay, so we fix health care by turning the uninsured into criminals. Interesting...but let's dig deeper:

Their choices would be expanded to include a range of new and inexpensive policies -- ranging from about $250 per month to nearly free -- from private insurers subsidized by the state.

Did you miss it? Should I post that quote again? I'm pretty sure they just said "private insurers subsidized by the state." Now, what was it that Romney said in the debate? Hmmm...oh, that's right. I just posted it above...something about letting the market decide, not raising taxes, and not letting the government take over.

Mitt Romney, the label Hypocrite I was applying to myself in this series is now yours as well. From here on out, I will refer to Governor Romney as Hypocrite Governor Romney (HGR) until he clarifies this issue (which will never happen).

So HGR, what's wrong with your Massachusetts approach?

1. You're criminalizing someone paying for health care with their own money. Paying for your own health care without insurance is THE DEFINITION OF LETTING THE MARKET DECIDE.



2. Insurance is a safety-net, not a free pass. Until we start treating insurance in this country as a safety-net to keep us out of bankruptcy, we'll continue to have problems with health care, car insurance, home owner's insurance, etc. Insurance companies must make a profit. They are businesses, not charities or non-profits. As such, they will either look at each customer individually, customers as groups, or all customers as a whole and make sure income exceeds expenses. If they're paying for your $4 monthly generic prescription at Wal-mart each and every month, that $4 is going to be in your monthly insurance cost one way (direct) or another (tax).



3. Plans like Hillary-care, as HGR demeans it (I didn't like it either...I just think it's a cheap shot), at least show themselves for what they are...Socialized Medicine. This half-breed, bastardization HGR built will only lead to higher taxes, doctors and hospitals acting as law enforcement, and who knows what other unforseen consequences.

HGR does some impressive double-talk. He can post "Free Market Health Care" as the title of his debate answer on his site all he wants, but his answer speaks for itself.