Friday, March 23, 2012

Things You Probably Didn’t Know about RomneyCare, But Should


The Massachusetts health care insurance reform law (aka “RomneyCare”) was thrust upon the Commonwealth of Massachusetts when $385 million in federal Medicaid funding by the federal government was abruptly cut off.  New rules required that the funding would have to go directly to individuals, rather than institutions, as it had before.   Healthcare reform was going to happen, whether Romney was Governor or not.  Massachusetts was drowning in debt before Governor Romney took office.

The plan only affected 8% of the Massachusetts population that did not have health insurance. Some of these people were even high income people. Many were showing up at the Emergency Rooms and the taxpayers had to foot the bill which increased everyone’s taxes.

The Massachusetts Health Care Law was based on Conservative Ideas to take the ‘burden‘ off of the tax payer and put Health Insurance back in the Private Market.

The plan was based on the Heritage Foundations ideals (which Newt Gingrich was a part of) and they praised it.  Newt Gingrich defended it too:  Here and Here.

If you are not familiar with the Heritage Foundation, they are a Conservative think tank and very highly regarded by the Republican base.

In 2006:  The Heritage Foundation said this about RomneyCare -  “…one that’s clearly consistent with conservative values.”

They also said this about RomneyCare:  “Those who want to create a consumer-based health system and deregulate health insurance should view Romney’s plan as one of the most promising strategies out there.”

They further said this, “Innovative mechanism to promote real consumer choice.”

The plan was for Massachusetts State only.  Governor Romney never intended it for anything else. As he has always maintained, it is a “States Issuenot a “Federal Issue” and he has maintained that to this day. Though Governor Romney does feel that if each State were to come out with a plan of there own they could help relieve themselves of the same issues Massachusetts had.

Granted, what Governor Romney wanted and how it ended up was different then his original vision.  Governor Romney wanted health care to work more like a market.  Quite a few things got changed from his vision, including “opt-out” of the mandates.  But, that had everything to do with him being a Conservative Governor in a very Liberal state.  His legislature was 85% democrat.

Even so, it worked:  ‘RomneyCare’ — a revolution that basically worked – The Boston Globe

Health Insurance Premium Growth has slowed in Massachusetts because of RomneyCare and its innovative ideas, which originated from the Heritage Foundation.

As of this year, the Massachusetts voters are still in favor of it:
- 62% of those polled said they still support the 2006 law
- 33% of those polled said they now oppose the law

Finally, there is no one better to defend the Massachusetts Health Care Plan against ObamaCare than Governor Romney himself.

If everything I have said still doesn’t make sense, please watch “Romney Care for Dummies“.  It really helps.

You can read this as well.  It is exceptionally informative:  The Truth about Massachusetts Health Care

| This article was cross posted from Mitt Chicks Rock | 

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10 comments:

Machtyn said...

Good Job, Diana Rae. And welcome to the page.

BOSMAN said...

Welcome aboard Diana!

As a life long Massachusetts resident, I can agree with your findings 110%.

Anonymous said...

Massachusetts is going bankrupt paying for this so-called 8%.

Now tell me that it all happened after Romney's watch.

kfoxnewell said...

Thanks so much DianaRae!

Anonymous said...

Great job Diana, but unfortunately the ABR's like Santorum and Gingrich will continue to lie about Romneycare. Funny thing...I always thought lying was a sin....maybe someone should tell Santorum that minor detail.

FastFacts said...

If you want to know the whole history of RomneyCare, check out the documentary at www.TeaPartyForRomney.com. There is so much that is not know about RomneyCare. The reason why Romney defends it as a state plan.

Jack Andrews said...

Anonymous...it all happened after Romney's watch.

Loopholes, legislative, and Gubernatorial changes to the law have exploded the costs.

Anonymous said...

Diana Rae, what a great resource. Thank you.

I live in neighboring Connecticut, and there's been absolutely no exodus of Massachusetts citizens crossing the border to escape the MassCare program. (Contrast that with Canada's single-payer system, where border crossings to the U.S. for care are frequent.) Several years ago, in fact, a CT co-worker of mine was mighty glad when her son, a MA resident who lost his job, was able to procure health insurance immediately because of the MassCare plan.

Whatever the flaws of MassCare--and Romney himself says he would change things, implement the program differently than his Democrat successor, and was overridden on his key vetoes--the Republicans in MA do not seem to regard the health insurance plan as fatal to Romney's presidential bid. Just the opposite. Romney won 72% of the MA vote in the GOP primary on March 6. This was a larger percentage vote than any GOP candidate has won in any other primary to date.

Publius Nemo said...

Thanks for the simple explanation. I heard another say RomneyCare is 70 pages and ObamaCare is 3000. There is a BIG difference. PN

Mary said...

Let's hear it for the truth. If the different candidates would stop lying, it would be easier to make an informed vote.

Romney does care for the people. That's what we need in the office of president.