Walking Back From RomneyCare?
I speculated on what was brewing within Mitt Romney's campaign on healthcare policy given that two leading proponents of free-market driven healthcare reform had joined the campaign. Well, here is a bit of a clue via Powerline:
"Next, we discussed health insurance. My question here was whether he considers the approach he used in Massachusetts -- basically requiring all citizens to have health insurance -- to be a viable and desirable approach for the nation as a whole. He answered that the Massachusetts plan was to some extent the product of special circumstances in the state: (1) a low numbere of uninsured and (2) the availability of over a billion dollars from various sources for use in taking care of the uninsured that could be converted to helping them obtain insurance. Romney's view is that each state, as a laboratory for our democracy, should find its own solution, but that the "overarching" market-based approach used in Massachusetts is the best way to go. Romney said he would not have the federal government mandate that everyone obtain health insurance, and he denounced the European model as well as "Hillarycare." "
If Hubbard, Cogan and Mankiw have Romney walking back from RomneyCare, that is a good thing.
"Next, we discussed health insurance. My question here was whether he considers the approach he used in Massachusetts -- basically requiring all citizens to have health insurance -- to be a viable and desirable approach for the nation as a whole. He answered that the Massachusetts plan was to some extent the product of special circumstances in the state: (1) a low numbere of uninsured and (2) the availability of over a billion dollars from various sources for use in taking care of the uninsured that could be converted to helping them obtain insurance. Romney's view is that each state, as a laboratory for our democracy, should find its own solution, but that the "overarching" market-based approach used in Massachusetts is the best way to go. Romney said he would not have the federal government mandate that everyone obtain health insurance, and he denounced the European model as well as "Hillarycare." "
If Hubbard, Cogan and Mankiw have Romney walking back from RomneyCare, that is a good thing.
posted by Donny Baseball at 10:26 AM
2 Comments:
I wonder if we can expect a similar "redeployment" from Rudy on abortion, suggesting perhaps that the issue might be better left up to the individual states. I wouldn't think so just yet, as he is doing quite well in the early polls... or at least some of them.
But if it begins to look like he needs to boost his credentials with social conservatives, his political instincts should overtake his ego.
(Incidentally, did you catch Don Luskin's jabs at Rudy on Kudlow's show last week over the insider trading prosecutions, particularly Michael Milken? Why, I almost felt vindicated.)
In any event, this should be a very interesting 12 months ahead. On both sides of the aisle.
Bat-
I did catch them and I am not going to be as purist as Luskin is on this. Politics is not for the pure and Luskin, more than anyone, should be willing to embrace someone like Giuliani who has a clear conservative managerial record but without the social conservative baggage. I think Rudy is the clear winner for libertarian minded folks. Hands down. The only identifiable flaw in the libertarian view is gun-control and I think this would be a non-factor in a RG administration.
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