http://www.investors.com/editorial/IBDArticles.asp?artsec=16&artnum=5&issue=20061027
Here's a story from Investors Business Daily on Romney's health care plan.
BY SEAN HIGGINS
INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY
Posted 10/27/2006
Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is widely considered a top contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008.
A key weapon in that bid will be his state's universal health insurance law.
Other politicians have tried to get a handle on the nation's estimated 45 million uninsured — and been humbled in the process. Romney expects to buck the odds.
He has presented his state's law — which requires all residents to obtain insurance by July 1, 2007 — as proof that he grasps the issue and can produce a result through both political parties.
"One of the things that I was most pleased with . . . is that everybody came together on this — the legislature, the (congressional) delegation here in Washington (and) the Heritage Foundation," Romney said at a forum last month hosted by National Journal magazine.
Still, Romney has been careful to say he is not promoting the Massachusetts health insurance law as a national model. While he has suggested other states could copy it, those states would have to adapt it first to fit their needs.
"Other states can improve on what we've come up with. . . . Perhaps (they will) come up with something better," Romney said. "Would I adopt this at a national level? No. Let's experiment with different ideas."
The stance is a canny political move by Romney, policy analysts say. It lets the governor boast credentials as a trailblazer on insurance and health issues without actually tying him to any particular plan.
"It's an appeal to the center. It's 'I can do bipartisanship. I can reach cross the aisle,' " said Michael Tanner, health policy expert at the free-market Cato Institute. "He's trying to be the new McCain."
Solving the problem of the uninsured may be a popular issue. A September Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that by a 56%-40% ratio, people prefer universal coverage to the current system.
Of that, 35% said they would back it even if it meant higher taxes or premiums.
The Massachusetts law requires all state residents to be insured by July or face fines of $1,000 a year. The state will subsidize coverage for low-income people, fully subsidizing those who fall below the poverty line.
Companies will be fined $295 per employee if they do not contribute toward their employees' insurance premiums.
Insurance will be made available via connector — a state-chartered private entity acting as a policy clearinghouse. Residents will pick among private policies and pay with pretax dollars. Any company with 50 or fewer employees could choose the connector as its group plan.
Romney argues that the plan saves money by reducing emergency room costs and related health care expenditures that drain state coffers. He says that while the state program will regulate the policies available through the connector, it is still a free market solution because it allows competition among coverage plans.
The plan was developed with the help of the conservative Heritage Foundation and was endorsed by Massachusetts' senior senator, Ted Kennedy.
"It's very promising and I'm optimistic regarding it," said Ron Pollack, president of the nonprofit Families USA, which promotes expanded health care.
The way Pollack sees the plan, it spotlights health insurance, forcing other candidates to follow Romney's lead and address the issue.
Business groups have been reserved, but have offered little criticism. A spokeswoman for the Chamber of Commerce says it's taking a wait-and-see approach.
Bill Vernon, director of the Massachusetts chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business, has a similar reaction, noting state firms are still preparing for it.
That may be the biggest stumbling block for Romney. Many of the details of the law remain to be worked out.
"The telling thing will be when they roll out . . . what type of plans are available through the connector," Vernon said. "The plans must be affordable for this to work."
The Massachusetts-based nonprofit Healthcare For All, which promoted the law, blasted a recent Romney proposal, claiming it set the minimum standards for those plans too low.
Should the law's rollout be regarded as a mess, Romney may be forced to answer for it on the campaign trail.
Then again, that may not hurt him much, since his term as governor ends in January.
"Romney will be out of office by (2008)," said Cato's Tanner. "He'll say (his successor) screwed it up."
Ann Marie