Leadership That Empowered Individuals

By: Tim Murphy

Townhall

Friday, Aug 24, 2007

"In April 2006, Massachusetts passed historic legislation aiming to increase dramatically the number of people covered by health insurance. While only in effect since July 2007, the early signs are encouraging. More people are signing up for affordable private insurance plans. Massachusetts is leading the way in the effort to provide all citizens the opportunity to purchase affordable health insurance. This landmark achievement is due in no small part to Governor Mitt Romney and his strong leadership, working in cooperation with the legislature.

"Fewer Republican presidential candidates are better prepared to meet our nation's health care challenge than Governor Romney. Health care is a complex issue and tackling it is no easy task, as politicians from across the country have discovered. Yet, Governor Romney brought together all sides to find a solution that at its heart advances individual choice and responsibility, and free-market principles.

"Under Governor Romney's plan in Massachusetts, state citizens are empowered to enter the private market and obtain their own health insurance. Personal responsibility is the defining principle of his plan. To facilitate movement towards a free-market, Governor Romney's reforms created a new insurance marketplace and provide subsidies to lower-income state citizens to obtain their own private plan."

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"Beyond this, Governor Romney took additional steps to limit government's role in health care. He vetoed a Democrat proposed $295 per employee fee for businesses that fail to offer insurance. While the State Legislature did not adopt all of Governor Romney's free-market proposals, he did make progress in helping insurers create lower-cost plans by modernizing our insurance markets."

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"At the heart of Governor Romney's plan in Massachusetts is a core belief that the solution to the challenge of reforming the health care system lies in private market solutions. What we have done in Massachusetts is unleash the power of competition. For the first time, many Massachusetts citizens are buying their own health care plans. This was achieved not by putting the government in the health care business but instead by empowering individuals."

Tim Murphy is the former Massachusetts Health And Human Services Secretary

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Romney's son pushes dad's fundraising in Valley

By: Paul Giblin

East Valley Tribune

Friday, Aug 24, 2007

"Unlike the elder Romney's two previous national fundraising efforts that targeted high-rollers, the next one is geared exclusively for low-rollers.

"'This is more of a grassroots effort to get as many people as possible excited and involved in the campaign,' Josh Romney said Wednesday. 'It?s a way to for people who wouldn?t normally be able to participate, because a lot of the events are really expensive, to become involved and participate.'

"The goal of the initiative, which is called 'Rally for Romney,' is to recruit community captains, who will try to raise $1,000 each, a few dollars at a time, by Sept. 25, when rallies will be held in more than 40 cities in 20 states.

"Until then, the national campaign will stage Web-based events featuring the former governor of Massachusetts in support of the drive, said Romney, 32, a Salt Lake City real estate developer who joined his father's campaign full time in mid-June."

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"'We've done great in Arizona. We've got some great people supporting us here,' said Josh Romney, the third of five sons in the Romney family." ...

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Romney's health care fix: states, market

By: Steven Thomma

McClatchy Newspapers

Friday, Aug 24, 2007

"Presidential candidate Mitt Romney will propose today doing for the country what he did as governor of Massachusetts - helping the uninsured get health insurance - while also working to curb soaring health care costs even for those with coverage.

"'We're going to make health insurance affordable. We're going to get on track to have every citizen insured. And we're going to reduce the rate of growth in health care spending,' Romney said in an exclusive interview with McClatchy Newspapers, previewing the proposal he'll unveil today in a speech to the Florida Medical Association.

"He lambasted Democratic health care plans as 'knee-jerk, single-payer' policies run by the federal government. He said Republicans should fight back with 'free market' proposals.

"His own plan is a blend of tax incentives, creative financing to help the uninsured without raising taxes or federal spending, and a state-based system that would depend on governors to fix the country's health-care problems."

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"To help control costs, Romney would allow all Americans to deduct from their taxable income all of their health-care costs including premiums and most out-of-pocket spending. Now, only people with a lot of expenses can deduct the cost from their taxable income.

"That, Romney said, would provide a tax incentive to buy high-deductible, low-premium health care plans. And that, he said, would lead people to spend less and make better, cheaper choices in buying health care. Overall spending on health care would drop by 6.2 percent, he estimated."

"'You get better behavior in health care,' he said.

"To help the uninsured, Romney would provide a package aimed at helping some people into existing government programs, driving down the costs of private health insurance and subsidies." ...

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