Romney pushed for individual mandate in Massachusetts health care law, emails show

Mitt Romney has distanced himself from the health care reform bill he signed as governor of Massachusetts amid criticism that the law bears more than a passing resemblance to Obamacare, which he's repeatedly pledged to repeal if elected in November.
But a series of emails obtained by the Wall Street Journal reveals Romney was actively engaged in negotiating the specifics of the 2006 Massachusetts bill and that he and his top aides championed a provision identical to one in President Barack Obama's law requiring individuals to have or buy health insurance.
The so-called individual mandate is at the heart of most conservative criticism of Obama's health care law, with many Republicans calling the provision unconstitutional. But in 2006, emails obtained by the Journal under a public records request show, Romney and his top aides pressed for an individual mandate even when Massachusetts Democrats weren't yet embracing such a proposal.

According to the emails, Romney personally drafted a Wall Street Journal op-ed that defended the individual mandate. Romney's draft, slightly different from the final version that was published, insisted taxpayers ultimately foot the bill when the uninsured seek health care—an argument that has been echoed by the White House in defending Obama's bill.
"Either the individual pays or the taxpayers pay. A free ride on government is not libertarian," the published op-ed said.
But according to a draft obtained by the Journal, Romney went one step further, arguing, "An uninsured libertarian might counter that he could refuse the free care, but under law, that is impossible—and inhumane."
Romney has defended the Massachusetts law by arguing that he did the right thing for his state. In campaigning for a repeal of Obama's law, Romney has rejected the "one size fits all" approach and argued that it should be up to individual states to determine how to handle health care coverage.

But Romney has said very little about the individual mandate. A Wall Street Journal op-ed published in March 2011 called him "compromised and not credible" because of his support of the mandate in Massachusetts and described him as "Obama's running mate." In a subsequent letter to the editor, Romney defended the bill, but did not specifically respond to the paper's argument that his support of the mandate was a violation of conservative principals.
Romney's campaign did not respond to a request for comment about the emails.

Mitt Romney's Advice For ObamaCare: Look At RomneyCare

Mitt Romney was once touting his plan to Obama as a model for health care reform. He didn't mention keeping it at the state level.
Republican Presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney often fends off the attacks comparing the similarities between the plan he signed in Massachusetts in 2006 and ObamaCare by saying he took a federalist approach. The former Massachusetts Governor says his plan was done on a state level, where the central theme to both plans, the individual mandate, was a actually a conservative approach.
But in a July 2009 op-ed in USA Today Romney thought the President could learn a thing or two from the plan he signed into law in Massachusetts, including using the individual mandate as an incentive for people to buy insurance.
The op-ed no longer appears on the USA Today website but is archived on the Mitt Romney fan site "Mitt Romney Central" and is accessible on the former Governor's old website via the web archive.

Health care cannot be handled the same way as the stimulus and cap-and-trade bills. With those, the president stuck to the old style of lawmaking: He threw in every special favor imaginable, ground it up and crammed it through a partisan Democratic Congress. Health care is simply too important to the economy, to employment and to America's families to be larded up and rushed through on an artificial deadline. There's a better way. And the lessons we learned in Massachusetts could help Washington find it.
Romney continues further down in the op-ed bringing up the individual mandate dreaded by conservatives.

Our experience also demonstrates that getting every citizen insured doesn't have to break the bank. First, we established incentives for those who were uninsured to buy insurance. Using tax penalties, as we did, or tax credits, as others have proposed, encourages "free riders" to take responsibility for themselves rather than pass their medical costs on to others. This doesn't cost the government a single dollar. Second, we helped pay for our new program by ending an old one — something government should do more often. The federal government sends an estimated $42 billion to hospitals that care for the poor: Use those funds instead to help the poor buy private insurance, as we did.

And Obama was against the individual mandate when running against Hillary, what's your point ?

Why Romney will not get my vote.
He is Democrat light and nothing will change when he is elected.

ABO needs to be changed to
ABI anyone but the incumbents.

Mitt Romney: A die hard conservative

Excuse me, but:

Umm, Romney fits both of your definitions there..

And by not voting for Romney, you are effectively voting for Obama. Primaries are where you express that disatisfaction.... Romney might not be good, but he is far and away better than Obama...its not even close.

Did you vote for Romney in the primary??

no...I voted for Santorum.

Would you want him as a father let alone President ? Good choice Mikey.

Here's how it works. If u don't have insurance coverage you take a big tax hit. There is state health coverages available on a sliding scale depending on your incOme.

It's a good idea that would work nationally. The reason the tax hit is not used in Obama care is cause no one would vote for a "tax ". Too bad cause the fed tax power wouldnt have the same challenge at the supreme court. Like we do with the current mandate.

Here is a better idea.... the ONLY tax incentive should exist for catostrophic coverage...thats it. Any other health insurance should be penalized in the tax code as to make it a great disincentive to have. That way, normal health care costs would be paid for out of pocket (pre tax) by everyone.... everyone would be conscious of how much health care actually costs...and as a result, prices will fall for most commonly used services.

admitting you voted for Santorum, there goes what was left of that cred.

Another 'tarded thread.... I'd rather elect a man who learned from his mistakes... Obama hasn't...

Yet you are willing to vote for Romney in the general election because HE IS A REPUBLICAN even though his stances on most issues are completely opposite of your guy Santorum. Not voting your principles make you a REPUBLISHEEP and until everyone starts voting for the candidate that they believe in nothing will change. We will get whoever the establishment decides should get the election.
Being A good conservative like yourself did you vote for McCain, Bush, Bob Dole, Bush 1?? Don't try to tell me that you really believe that these candidates were the best and real conservatives.

That cred account was drained completely long before Santorum even announced he was running this time.

Actually the reason Obama won't is he already said he won't raise taxes on those making under 200K....don't know why he worries about lying, he's lied about everything else..

No...I am willing to vote for Romney because he is NOT Obama.. Santorum isn't running in the general election... I will vote AGAINST OBAMA....Obama is a marxist. Romney is not close to being a marxist. Please explain how your vote for someone other than Romney, or non vote at all, helps move us past Obama ??

At least with Romney, we live to fight another day.... With Obama...not so much. Unless of course you can explain differently.

In the general election...of course.. In the Primary, I don't think I voted for anyone you mentioned except Dubya...


You vote for your candidate in the primary....you vote with your head in the general election... You are doing NOTHING except help Obama get re-elected and you cannot explain that fact away.

Jesus Christ, dude...melodramatic much?

Does Perry know Mike's cheating on him?

We have been fighting another day since Bob Dole, John McCain, George Bush1 & 2.
When will you concede that the fight is lost and drastic steps need to be taken???
It took a nuke to win WW2 and it will take a nuke being dropped on the Republican Establishment
To win a victory over the RINO's. Eventually you will have to stop eating the shit sandwich hat they are feeding you to make the changes that are required to fix the party and the country.

Is Obama going to take those drastic steps ??? Why do you want to help him get 4 more years ??

Obama's re-election is a nuke on the country...not just the Republican establishment. Hope and Change !

Maybe you're not paying attention much.... it doesn't seem so. Just get your Obama/Biden 2012 sticker, and be happy...

Timmy - we both reside in Massachusetts so you know the answer to the following questions as well as I do. Since the law went into effect -

1. Has the cost of health care gone up or down?

2. Have the number of bankruptcies due to health care costs gone up or down?

3. Has the mandate kept people from going without insurance?

As to your national ambitions - if Obamacare levels the playing field and sets standards that all insurance carriers have to meet, then why won't they allow people to shop for insurance across state lines and thus introduce competition into the marketplace and use market forces to bring premium costs down?

wow, so much drama from the right. OBAMA IS A MARXIST, OBAMACARE IS SOCIALISM, HE WAS BORN IN KENYA!!!!!

You think you covered every right wing talking point?