Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney told University of Michigan College Republicans Thursday that he was “proud” of the health care reform plan he persuaded state legislators to pass in 2006 because it “was a state solution to a state problem.” Obamacare, on the other hand, he argued, was “a power grab by the federal government to put in place a one-size-fits-all plan across the nation.” Romney was right that Romneycare applied only to Massachusetts, while the whole nation is stuck with Obamacare, at least for now. But he is wrong on just about everything else on this crucial issue. The reality that Romney cannot avoid and will not be allowed to ignore during the 2012 presidential campaign is that Obamacare and Romneycare are essentially identical. Both force individuals to obtain health insurance. Both force health insurance companies to insure everyone at virtually the same price. Both provide tax-paid subsidies to individuals to help pay for health insurance. Both expand Medicaid to provide health insurance for those who still can’t afford it after receiving government premium subsidies.
Romney said the two plans are financed differently. True, almost half of Obamacare’s funding comes from a raid on Medicare, but much of Romneycare’s funding originated as Medicaid dollars. Obamacare raises a slew of new taxes; Romneycare instituted a new $235-a-head employee tax. So, since the two laws are so similar, it is vitally important that all opponents of Obamacare know how Romneycare is faring in Massachusetts. The answer: not well at all.
True, more than 98 percent of all Massachusetts residents now have health insurance, up from 94 percent in 2005. But individuals are paying higher health insurance premiums. The median health insurance premium for a policyholder in Massachusetts jumped 21 percent between 2005 and 2009. What’s more, Massachusetts taxpayers are paying more for health care. Total health care spending has grown from 30 percent of the state budget in 2006 to 40 percent today. The national average is 25 percent. A Rand Corp. analysis estimates that Massachusetts health care spending will double by 2020, increasing 8 percent faster than the state’s gross domestic product.
Even worse, the quality of care is declining. Four out of five of the newly insured receive low- or no-cost coverage from the government. Instead of decreasing emergency room visits, Romneycare has increased them almost 10 percent. Why? Romneycare has made it next to impossible to find a doctor. It sometimes takes a month and a half to get a doctor’s appointment.
What Massachusetts has discovered under Romneycare is that access to health insurance is not the same thing as access to health care. Obamacare opponents need to make the case that the country cannot afford to make the same health care mistakes Massachusetts did at the state level. Romney should admit his health care reform was a colossal mistake and take his lumps. He might be surprised at how receptive most Americans will be to a politician who admits a mistake and seeks to apply the lessons learned.
