Romney seeks jobs package, health care in quest for political legacy
http://www.milforddailyne…&format=&page=1
By Glen Johnson / Associated Press
Friday, October 28, 2005BOSTON — Approaching a self-imposed deadline for making a decision about his political future, Gov. Mitt Romney has been pursuing a busy legislative agenda that could be aimed at sealing his legacy ahead of an expected run for the White House.
In recent weeks, Romney has huddled with aides, devising plans to win legislative passage of a job stimulus bill and a health care package.
This week, he’s been out front campaigning for last-minute changes to a strengthened drunken driving law — and describing a recent legislative version as riddled with loopholes “so large you could fly a 747 through it.”The House and Senate have their own versions of all three proposals and are expected to at least act on drunken driving and health care before adjourning on Nov. 16. That would let Romney preside over the bill-signing ceremonies in the weeks leading up to an expected late fall announcement of whether he’ll seek re-election. The Republican governor, who was elected to his first term in 2002, is widely expected to skip the 2006 gubernatorial race to make a run for the White House in 2008.
READ MORE AT THE MILFORD DAILY NEWS
October 29th, 2005 at 10:43 pm
Could you pull together a short summary of Gov. Romney’s health care plan? That would be very helpful to us out-of-staters who are trying to learn about his capabilities and ‘vision’.
Also, you might find my earlier comment on Romney interesting….
http://polistrasmill.blogspot.com/2005/09/fathers-sons-georges-mitts.html
October 30th, 2005 at 6:40 pm
From USA Today http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/health/2005-07-04-health-insurance-usat_x.htm
Gov. Mitt Romney says Massachusetts can drop its current uninsured rate of 7% to zero with a plan that would require individuals to buy insurance. The three-pronged approach would:
Boost efforts to get 106,000 eligible residents who have not signed up for Medicaid to do so.
Create a program called Commonwealth Care through which people of moderate income and small businesses could buy insurance from private insurers at a special rate. It would not be subsidized by the state. About 204,000 are eligible.
Policies would be offered covering primary care, hospital care, mental health services and prescription drugs, with annual deductibles of $250 to $1,000. Romney’s plan estimates monthly premiums of less than $200 for an individual, well below current premiums in his state of more than $350 a month for small group coverage.
Establish a second program called Safety Net Care for residents with incomes up to 300% of the federal poverty level, which is $28,700 for a single person. Policies would have no annual deductible and would be subsidized by the state, with policyholders paying 1.3% to 5.8% of their income, or $2.30 to $32.31 a week, for an individual plan. About 150,000 people would be eligible.
Once the programs were in place, individual who did not get insurance from their jobs or buy it through one of the programs could lose their personal tax exemption of $3,300 — worth about $175 for an average taxpayer — face withholding of their income tax refund, or if they get medical care, their wages could be garnished for payment.
By Julie Appleby
October 30th, 2005 at 10:59 pm
Thanks for responding!
Looks like a well-crafted plan.
October 30th, 2005 at 11:16 pm
No problem on the response. If you would like any other Romney information feel free to ask for it. Thanks so much for your interest.
Hope you have a great upcoming week.