Conservative defenders of Mitt Romney argue that however similar his Massachusetts health care plan may have been to President Obama’s national health care law, he’s an acceptable candidate because he’s called for the repeal of the national law. The problem is, based on what we know about him, there’s no reason to accept Romney’s reassurances that he’d actually follow through as president.

Here’s what we know. During his one time as an elected politician, Romney’s signature achievement was the passage of a health care law that was the forerunner to Obamacare. Both plans: expand Medicaid, force individuals to obtain government-approved insurance coverage or pay a penalty, and provide government subsidies to individuals to purchase government-designed insurance policies on government-run exchanges.