Romney’s Health Care Plan
As many of you already know, Mitt’s health care plan was significantly ahead of the curve. Many on the political stage have talked about reforming health care for years, while academics or so called visionaries have written articles or books defining what would or wouldn’t work in health care reform.
Of course, Mitt just went out and did it – implementing a comprehensive health care reform for Massachusetts.
This article’s underlying tone laments the fact that nowhere in South Carolina is such leadership evident. While many may look at solutions from different regions of the country with a jaundiced eye, deriving mainly from provincial attitudes, perhaps recognition of what Mitt was offering has started to surface.
Mitt’s revolutionary success in Massachusetts stemmed from his long-term strategic vision that addressed many of the interwoven complexities of political, bureaucratic, economic and medical issues that directly and indirectly affected a revised health care plan. Mitt reformative political moves in health care, frightened off many career politicians, however.
In politics, talking about substantive issues as opposed to actually getting things done tends to procure a longer political career and provide more favorable quotes in the press. In contrast, ruffling the feathers of preening political peacocks is a dangerous game.
Hopefully, over the next few years, the political flocks will take a second look at Romney as they travel in their migratory trajectories and view reality from a different perspective. We can only hope, right?
Stephen
How about Romney for S.C. guv?
Published: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 - 2:00 am
By Paul Hyde
phyde@greenvillenews.com
Pic (U Mass)
Now that he’s out of the presidential race, Mitt Romney may need a new job.
How about this: Governor of South Carolina in 2010.
I’m kidding. Sort of.
We certainly could use some bold Romney-like gubernatorial leadership here — particularly in regard to health care.
The health-care plan Romney designed for Massachusetts has been criticized in some quarters, but the bottom line is this: Romney reduced his state’s uninsured population by more than half.
Before the Romney plan, Massachusetts had about 600,000 uninsured people.
After the plan, Massachusetts has less than 300,000 uninsured people.
Not bad for a start.
By any measure, that’s impressive progress.
It’s not the sort of progress we’ve seen in South Carolina, to say the least.
Will any elected leader in South Carolina step forward with a plan to reduce our uninsured population (700,000) by half?
So far, no one has shown Romney-like leadership on health care in South Carolina.
Romney’s Massachusetts plan includes both carrots and sticks. The compromise with a Democratic Legislature increased public spending on health care but also sought to control costs through private-insurance competition.
The plan sets up a marketplace where people can buy portable insurance with pretax dollars, which sounds a great deal like the sort of consumer-directed approach that U.S. Rep. Bob Inglis currently is touting in his health-care tour of the Fourth District.
No, Romney’s plan didn’t cover everyone in Massachusetts, as originally intended.
Yes, the plan is projected to cost the state more than the $472 million projected.
Romney, as a presidential candidate, even distanced himself at times from his own greatest success as governor.
But with all its shortcomings, the innovative health-care plan by a courageous Gov. Romney and Massachusetts Legislature still reduced the uninsured population in that state by half.
Would that South Carolina’s leaders could be so courageous.
http://greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080227/OPINION/802270363/1008
