Romneycare

But You Can’t ‘Fire’ Mandated Insurance

A friend who favors another Republican candidate writes about Romney's “I like to be able to fire people” moment.

A friend who favors another Republican candidate writes about Romney’s “I like to be able to fire people” moment:

“I think EVERYONE has missed the story here. The real story would seem to be this:

(1) If he wants people to “have their own insurance,” then why has the number of people getting Medicaid rather than “their own insurance” gone up under Romneycare? Does he regard the two as equal? If so, what does that imply? Isn’t he being disingenuous here—boob bait for the backwoods?

(2) Obviously, with the mandate, one cannot “fire” Medicaid. The poor person has to get an insurance company to cover them—and how’s that Commonwealth Connector thing working out? So what’s Mitt talking about? Just the top folks? The only way to pressure insurance companies to provide better service is to have a well-working, competitive market in which patients are in the driver’s seat. That’s what McCain was pilloried for, but it’s impossible with the mandate.

As always with Mitt, one has to dig beneath the carefully crafted veneer. The dust is all under the rug, to mix metaphors.

And they'’still not bending the cost curve—just getting more money from the Feds. A technical, but great analysis shows why Romney’s promise of “waivers” for states is disingenous at best.”

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David Frum

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