Romney's Health Care Plan- Odious to Everyone

Amid balloons, confetti and much fanfare 18 months ago, Mitt Romney launched his "universal" health care plan which he and his handlers hoped would become a model for other states, and eventually, the nation.

It was supposed to be the best of every world- providing low cost coverage for everyone, while allowing the free market to create the necessary insurance to competitively meet the need, without undue government interference.

Instead, it created a bureaucracy that failed to deliver the promised goods,

Romney said on April 11th, 2006 that "Every uninsured citizen in Massachusetts will soon have affordable health insurance and the costs of health care will be reduced. And we will need no new taxes, no employer mandate and no government takeover to make this happen."

My employer picks up half of my heath care insurance costs. My burden is a measly $9,000 a year. Perhaps that is "affordable" to some, not to me.

As far as a "mandate" goes, the little detail that many in this country don't realize is that if an individual doesn't purchase health insurance, the state department of revenue will initiate a tax penalty on the individual, starting by taking away their personal exemption. (that's $4,150 for a person like myself).

After that, the state can levy a fine of up to 50% the cost of an "affordable" plan. Imagine that. You will see in the not-so-distant future, the state of Massachusetts doling out punitive fines like condoms from the public high school nurse, all for the crime of not buying health insurance from a private carrier. There will be tax liens, subsequent foreclosures, bank accounts being frozen, just as if those individuals were tax cheats. Not quite the health care utopia that Romney presented at Fanueil Hall last year.

The bogus argument advanced by the Romney administration was that they were requiring individuals to purchase health insurance, just as drivers in the state are required to purchase car insurance. However, the argument is non-sequitor. If you don't buy car insurance, you simply don't have the privilege to drive. Hundreds of thousands in the state either use public transportation, hitch rides with friends or relatives, or in short, simply have no pressing need for a car.

However, in the case of health insurance, you are required to purchase it simply for the privilege of being alive.

And of course, the last element of Romney's promise is that this was all going to happen without an increase in taxes from the State government. And of course, before the first year was up, there was a funding gap that needed to be addressed by the legislature.

Romney is hoping to ride into the White house as the only man who has ever "fixed" the health care problems of his prospective state. However, the other proverbial shoe has not even fallen yet on the people of Massachusetts. It is highly likely that the real costs of health care in the state will actually be going up, and the "Massachusetts Miracle" in health care will ultimately prove to be just a mirage.

Amid balloons, confetti and much fanfare 18 months ago, Mitt Romney launched his "universal" health care plan which he and his handlers hoped would become a model for other states, and eventually, the nation.

It was supposed to be the best of every world- providing low cost coverage for everyone, while allowing the free market to create the necessary insurance to competitively meet the need, without undue government interference.

Instead, it created a bureaucracy that failed to deliver the promised goods,

Romney said on April 11th, 2006 that "Every uninsured citizen in Massachusetts will soon have affordable health insurance and the costs of health care will be reduced. And we will need no new taxes, no employer mandate and no government takeover to make this happen."

My employer picks up half of my heath care insurance costs. My burden is a measly $9,000 a year. Perhaps that is "affordable" to some, not to me.

As far as a "mandate" goes, the little detail that many in this country don't realize is that if an individual doesn't purchase health insurance, the state department of revenue will initiate a tax penalty on the individual, starting by taking away their personal exemption. (that's $4,150 for a person like myself).

After that, the state can levy a fine of up to 50% the cost of an "affordable" plan. Imagine that. You will see in the not-so-distant future, the state of Massachusetts doling out punitive fines like condoms from the public high school nurse, all for the crime of not buying health insurance from a private carrier. There will be tax liens, subsequent foreclosures, bank accounts being frozen, just as if those individuals were tax cheats. Not quite the health care utopia that Romney presented at Fanueil Hall last year.

The bogus argument advanced by the Romney administration was that they were requiring individuals to purchase health insurance, just as drivers in the state are required to purchase car insurance. However, the argument is non-sequitor. If you don't buy car insurance, you simply don't have the privilege to drive. Hundreds of thousands in the state either use public transportation, hitch rides with friends or relatives, or in short, simply have no pressing need for a car.

However, in the case of health insurance, you are required to purchase it simply for the privilege of being alive.

And of course, the last element of Romney's promise is that this was all going to happen without an increase in taxes from the State government. And of course, before the first year was up, there was a funding gap that needed to be addressed by the legislature.

Romney is hoping to ride into the White house as the only man who has ever "fixed" the health care problems of his prospective state. However, the other proverbial shoe has not even fallen yet on the people of Massachusetts. It is highly likely that the real costs of health care in the state will actually be going up, and the "Massachusetts Miracle" in health care will ultimately prove to be just a mirage.