Right Change: Romney Talks Healthcare

There has been a lot of talk about healthcare in recent weeks as we draw nearer to the November Presidential elections. It is no mystery that the key accomplishment of Obama’s term, nicknamed ‘Obamacare’, is unpopular. Numbers show that only 1 in 4 Americans want the Supreme Court to uphold the law. But for those who do defend President Obama’s policies, there is much outcry against Mitt Romney who “intends to repeal and replace Obamacare” if elected President. Obama is the ‘good guy’ who stands up for low income families, and Mitt Romney assumes the role of the villain who says “too bad” to those who can’t afford healthcare. However, in a recent speech in Orlando, Romney clarified and defended himself, saying:

“It’s important for us, in my view, to make sure that every American has access to good health care,” and that “I don’t want [people] to be denied insurance because they’ve got some preexisting condition.”

What’s the matter with that attitude? We say nothing, and who would disagree? However, the Obama administration promptly snapped back, releasing the blatantly false statement that “Mitt Romney promised that if he's elected, insurance companies will be able to discriminate against Americans with pre-existing conditions.”

In response to the heavy criticism of his plan in Massachusetts and its similarity to the current federal law, Romney did not back away from his support of the law, but said he doesn’t back imposing its provisions nationwide, saying:

“I believe that states have responsibility to care for people in the way they feel best.”

Romney also described his own plans for healthcare if elected this fall. He calls for a healthcare that resembles and behaves “like a consumer market,” namely a market for products and services bought for personal and family use. This is intended to keep quality high while price remains low which has “happened everywhere we’ve applied consumer-market principles,” Romney says, citing functioning examples.

This is one of the first times that Romney has addressed the issue in detail since he essentially nailed down the Republican nomination. We can expect much more on the subject in upcoming months, and are interested to see what the Obama campaign has to say in retort. 

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