Romney is no conservative. He is, in fact, a big-government Socialist. Proof: Look at his mandatory health insurance law, which goes into effect July 1. This is the plan that guarantees abortion coverage, and gives Planned Parenthood a role in managing that coverage. From today's Boston Globe:
Countdown to coverage: On July 1, state law requires every adult to have health insurance if affordable plans are available. There are many options. The following is a guide to those choices.
More than 135,000 Massachusetts residents who were previously uninsured have gotten free or subsidized coverage under the state's landmark health insurance law. The initiative established Massachusetts as the first state to require every resident to have coverage. An estimated 250,000 to 350,000 people remain uninsured. The law mandated the expansion of Medicaid and the establishment of new state-subsidized insurance and lower-cost private plans. It also pressed businesses to provide insurance for their workers. Here are answers to some key questions about the insurance requirement. ... [Read more...]
Also in today's Globe, a Swiss advocate for socialized medicine reviews the failings of Switzerland's mandatory health insurance, instituted in 1996. ("The Swiss example on health insurance reform.") This provides a preview of the problems Romney's law will bring to Massachusetts. While "[e]veryone has access to the same comprehensive health insurance coverage, at the same premiums, and to the same quality of medical care" in Switzerland, the author continues:
So, why did a coalition of stakeholders -- mainly the Socialist Party and the Popular Group of Families -- propose in March to vote on a radical restructuring of the system: the adoption of a single payer system?
First, affordability of health coverage has become a major issue, particularly for middle income people who do not qualify for government subsidies. Some Swiss families are paying as much as 16 percent of household income for health coverage.
Second, the availability of high-deductible health plans, promoted as a panacea to the problem of affordability for middle income people by the right wing of the Swiss parliament, has brought no relief from rising health insurance premiums. Premium rates for all types of health insurance, including high-deductible plans, have continued to rise at rates that far exceed general inflation. There is growing concern that people enrolled in these plans are more likely to avoid, skip, or delay needed care because of costs.
Finally, there is growing public concern and distrust of private non profit health insurers. Swiss citizens believe that insurers have profited unduly from the individual mandate, in part by adopting a range of pernicious practices to hunt for good insurance risks and avoid people in poorer health, in violation of Swiss law.
