Romneycare: The wreckage
Here’s more confirmation of the economic damage Romneycare did in the Bay State. The Boston Herald has the exclusive results of an analysis by Suffolk University’s Beacon Hill Institute.
Romney’s baggage. It is so heavy:
The Bay State’s controversial 2006 universal health-care plan — also known as “Romneycare” — has cost Massachusetts more than 18,000 jobs, according to an exclusive blockbuster study that could provide ammo to GOP rivals of former Gov. Mitt Romney as he touts his job-creating chops on the campaign trail.
“Mandating health insurance coverage and expanding the demand for health services without increasing supply drove up costs. Economics 101 tells us that,” said Paul Bachman, research director at Suffolk University’s Beacon Hill Institute, the conservative think tank that conducted the study. The Herald obtained an exclusive copy of the findings.
“The ‘shared sacrifice’ needed to provide universal health care includes a net loss of jobs, which is attributable to the higher costs that the measure imposed,” said David Tuerck, the institute’s executive director.
…Despite Romney’s vaunted business acumen as a successful venture capitalist, Bachman said the former governor “was a little naive about what would become of the law.”
The Beacon Hill Institute study found that, on average, Romneycare:
• cost the Bay State 18,313 jobs;
• drove up total health insurance costs in Massachusetts by $4.311 billion;
• slowed the growth of disposable income per person by $376; and
• reduced investment in Massachusetts by $25.06 million.
And remember that RomneyCare relied on FedGovCare as a sturdy crutch: “He also noted the state’s health-care costs have been heavily subsidized by billions of dollars in federal aid through a Medicaid waiver program.”
As I’ve observed previously, RomneyCare and ObamaCare share not only the same ideological architects, but similar waiver programs in part set up to benefit Big Labor – via Boston Globe in Feburary:
Massachusetts regulators granted more exemptions last year to residents who said they could not afford the health insurance required by the state, waiving the tax penalty for more than half of those who appealed, according to state data.
State officials said they excused the majority of waiver applicants in large part because of the protracted sour economy, which made insurance unaffordable for more people. Under the 2006 state law that requires most residents to have coverage, regulators have significant latitude to authorize waivers by taking into account factors such as a home foreclosure.
The number of people seeking exemptions in 2010 was about the same as in 2009, and state figures show that roughly 98 percent of residents were insured last year.
Even as Republicans and many states wage a bitter battle in Congress and the courts to block the mandatory insurance requirement in the national health care law, the provision appears to retain broad acceptance in Massachusetts.
Regulators’ flexibility may be part of the reason.
“We aren’t going to make someone pay just to make them pay,’’ said Celia Wcislo, a director of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East and a member of the Connector Authority, which oversees Massachusetts’ health care law and grants the exemptions.
Background on the politicized “Connector Authority” via Cato:
When Romney signed his plan he claimed “a key objective is to lower the cost of health insurance for all our citizens and allow our citizens to buy the insurance plan that fits their needs.” In actuality, insurance premiums in the state are expected to rise 10–12 percent next year, double the national average.
…Although there are undoubtedly many factors behind the cost increase, one reason is that the new bureaucracy that the legislation created-the “Connector”-has not been allowing Massachusetts citizens to buy insurance that “fits their needs.”
Although it has received less media attention than other aspects of the bill, one of the most significant features of the legislation is the creation of the Massachusetts Health Care Connector to combine the current small-group and individual markets under a single unified set of regulations. Supporters such as Robert E. Moffit and Nina Owcharenko of the Heritage Foundation consider the Connector to be the single most important change made by the legislation, calling it “the cornerstone of the new plan” and “a major innovation and a model for other states.”
The Connector is not actually an insurer. Rather, it is designed to allow individuals and workers in small companies to take advantage of the economies of scale, both in terms of administration and risk pooling, which are currently enjoyed by large employers. Multiple employers are able to pay into the Connector on behalf of a single employee. And, most importantly, the Connector would allow workers to use pretax dollars to purchase individual insurance. That would make insurance personal and portable, rather than tied to an employer-all very desirable things.
However, many people were concerned that the Connector was being granted too much regulatory authority. It was given the power to decide what products it would offer and to designate which types of insurance offered “high quality and good value.” This phrase in particular worried many observers because it is the same language frequently included in legislation mandating insurance benefits.
At the time the legislation passed, Ed Haislmaier of the Heritage Foundation reassured critics that “the Connector will neither design the insurance products being offered nor regulate the insurers offering the plans.” In reality, however, the Connector’s board has seen itself as a combination of the state legislature and the insurance commissioner, adding a host of new regulations and mandates.
For example, the Connector’s governing board has decreed that by January 2009, no one in the state will be allowed to have insurance with more than a $2,000 deductible or total out-of-pocket costs of more than $5,000. In addition, every policy in the state will be required to phase in coverage of prescription drugs, a move that could add 5–15 percent to the cost of insurance plans. A move to require dental coverage barely failed to pass the board, and the dentists-along with several other provider groups-have not given up the effort to force their inclusion. This comes on top of the 40 mandated benefits that the state had previously required, ranging from in vitro fertilization to chiropractic services.
Thus, it appears that the Connector offers quite a bit of pain for relatively little gain. Although the ability to use pretax dollars to purchase personal and portable insurance should be appealing in theory, only about 7,500 nonsubsidized workers have purchased insurance through the Connector so far. On the other hand, rather than insurance that “fits their needs,” Massachusetts residents find themselves forced to buy expensive “Cadillac” policies that offer many benefits that they may not want.
Governor Romney now says that he cannot be held responsible for the actions of the Connector board, because it’s “an independent body separate from the governor’s office.” However, many critics of the Massachusetts plan warned him precisely against the dangers of giving regulatory authority to a bureaucracy that would last long beyond his administration.
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This AM on Fox and Friends one of the hosts said “Perry had the heart of a Democrat and the mind of a Republican”. Is this a good description of Perry? I’m getting a little concerned about our “front runners”. Getting close to 80 years living under my belt and folks today cannot imagine the impacts gov’t is having in our everyday lives. Feeling like I’m going to have to start carrying a “Rule Book” to stay out of trouble.
Argh, Romney cannot be the nominee!!! Why does he do so well in the polls?!? If we choose him, it will validate everything the left has been saying about us, that we only oppose Obama because he is black, not because of his policies. They will say, “Look at those hypocrite tea partiers–they said they opposed Obamacare because they didn’t like the policy but then they nominated Romney even though he instituted Romneycare! So they like it when a white man does it, but not when a black man does!!”
Believing that it is the government’s place to be “compassionate” is where so many people — and all liberals — go astray. Governments, businesses, corporations, are not compassionate, for the simple reason that they can not be. Because they are not people. They are institutions, not people, and they don’t — and CANNOT — have feelings. A tributary to this fallacy is the belief that that poor guy in — Cleveland was it? — who died over a bad tooth died because of a lack of health insurance. No. He died over lack of health care. Unfortunately, many folks cannot see the distinction, and it is not a minor one.
I am not sure which explanation is more surreal; Romney defending Romneycare or Waxman defending the Solyndra loan.
I would say yes, which explains why he would mandate innoculations of 12 year old girls and protect illegals.
We need someone with the heart and mind of a Constituonal Conservative.
But he’s so damn electable, and that hair, look at that hair! (ralph)
Tru dat! Just another example of the white devils trying to keep a brutha down!
My guess would be name recognition. How many of the other GOP candidates do you think the average person (not us political junkies) really even knows names like Cain, Bachman, Santorium, etc?
Sure he’s electable, if 28% were all it took to get elected. None of these guys can beat Trump. What does that say about how bad this GOP field is? (And to the noseholders: No, I am not endorsing Trump nor making light of cancer. I know it’s hard but think for once. I can’t make my point without naming Trump. Capiche?)
I don’t think even total repudiation of this disaster can help elevate Romney in my mind. He is poison.
Bachmann/Santorum
Romneycare is a massive boondoggle, and Romney’s continued refusal to admit it is of a piece with his flip-flopping on other issues and apparently pliable principles. He will do whatever he thinks it takes to become President, but that very lack of principled substance renders him unqualified. If he became president, would he do what is best for the country, or what is best for the Romney presidency?
Perry has his own issues. Questionable judgment on the Gardisil mandate, whether founded in crony capitalism or an emotional response to a difficult situation. There is other evidence of cronyism. His policies on border protection and illegal immigration are completely unacceptable.
Bachmann is prone to gaffes and factual errors. She has put herself in a position where it is all too easy to portray her as about half a bubble off level.
Why can’t Republicans find an electable candidate whose policies are consistently conservative and rational? It is because they are themselves part of the problem, part of the political class whose interests are often at odds with conservative principles and what is best for the country. They join with the rest of the political class, Democrats and people who depend on taxpayer money for their livelihoods and handouts, in attacking true reformers. They view true conservative reformers as common enemies those who would truly alter the unsustainable and toxic status quo that supplies their gravy train.
I recognize the supreme importance of removing the Obama administration from power before they “fundamentally change” America into a second rate socialist economy on the road to bankruptcy and a second rate power that can’t defend itself.
I hope that someday I can vote for a presidential candidate I can support whole-heartedly, not one who is just the lesser evil.
We are going to get a New World Order approved Republican presidential candidate, that much is 100% certain, but seriously people, wake up to this fraudster already. So sick of hearing what a smart business man he is. The man has phony written all over him. I don’t even buy that he’s actually Mormnon. It’s just like the big lie that Clinton and Bush were actually Christians.
The only God any statist worships is the God of Power. They play the religeon card to fool those of you that are such good people that you don’t think they are capable of such dishonesty. No way Mitt Romney believes in anything beyond the absolute power of the State. What more proof do you need that this?
Captain Wishy Washy’s chances as a presidential candidate are evaporating.
I’ve been using this argument for weeks now – Mitt Romney CANNOT give it to BO for obamacare when he had the same thing in MA. I don’t want to hear from the folks on here that say that it is a state’s issue, not a federal one, because that is the lamest argument ever! If he thinks it’s ok to force individuals into purchasing health insurance (and therefore driving up the costs to the ins companies & then individuals) how on Earth would he be able to come back at obambi in a debate on obamacare??
I’m with Phil, Hiraghm, and Novaculus – we can’t continue to put RINO’s in office and expect different results from them. A tiger is a tiger is a tiger and that is why we MUST keep Romney and Perry both from getting the nomination, no matter how much the GOP elites think they should get it! Yes, getting BO out of office before he decrees himself leader for life is VITALLY important, but so is making sure that we don’t get a McCain – let’s go along to get along, everyone – or any other of the RINO’s that currently hold office in Congress.
And the broken 33 rpm record plays on and on.
When Romnr
What is it gonna take for people to realize what a faker, a phony, and a fraud this guy is? Were 100% garaunteed to get a New World Order approved presidential candidate, but come on, really, this how can you not see this skunks stripes? Romney stinks, and he is a liar.
I don’t even buy for a second that he’s even a Mormon. He’s about as Mormon as Bill Clinton and George Bush are Christians. It’s all just to fool you good religeous folk that think people with nice skin and a good haircut never lie. Sad what dupes so many good people are. This man respects no higher authority.
The only higher power this man respects is that which he wishes to wield, the almighty power of the State. Do you need more proof that this?
Sarah Palin looks better every day. Palin/Bachman ’12. The ladies don’t appear to be half the hucksters as any of these empty suits!
When RomneyCare was first in place it was way different than it is now. The Ds came in after he left office and passed a bunch of changes. They added a whole slew of “man
I hate to say this, but Sarah Palin’s starting to look pretty darn electable.
When RomneyCare was first in place it was way different than it is now. The Ds came in after he left office and passed a bunch of changes. They added a whole slew of “mandatory coverages” which drove the cost way up.
I don’t remember any of the krap that surrounded the signing of ObumerCare compared to when to the signing of RomneyCare
Part of an answer to the question of “Why does he do so well in the polls” applies to both of the current GOP leaders; BIG BUCKS behind them and therefore the ability to hire the Teams capable of putting you in front and keeping you there.
“The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter.”
Winston Churchill
Face it people, we are screwed. After all the excitement of the 2010 election, the mobilization of the Tea Party crowd, this is what we end up with, Romney or Perry; not a Tea Party candidate in realistic sight. With the constant every day corruption of the media, assassinating the character of the TP members through lying and demagoguing, and hiding negative news about their own candidates, we cannot hope to get enough votes from the “marginally interested” voters, to elect a candidate who will effect the drastic change that this country needs. If we form a third political party, it will just ensure one party (dem) domination, due to the splitting of the conservative vote. Sorry but this game feels like it is over.
I hate to say this, but Sarah Palin’s starting to look pretty darn electable.
Garsh. Who woulda thunk it? Gubmint interference in free markets causes interference in free markets.
When RomneyCare was first in place it was way different than it is now. The Ds came in after he left office and passed a bunch of changes. They added a whole slew of “mandatory coverages” which drove the cost way up.
I don’t remember any of the krap that surrounded the signing of ObumerCare compared to when to the signing of RomneyCare .
Counterpoint:
“The best argument in favor of democracy is a five minute conversation with the average politician.”
novaculus 9/15/11
We need to change them out as often as we change our underwear, and for the same reason.
I’m from San Antonio and a little while back there was a push to turn a section of Hwy 281 N into a Toll Road. The rumor was that the company that was going to operate the Toll Road was a contributor of Governor Perry’s. Fortunately, they couldn’t get it approved so they were not able to toll an existing public highway.
No biggie there. Just one bro (Obama) taking care of another (Deval Patrick).
To tone, #12. First, I am glad you are aware of the New World Order movement that has been inching along for years. Too many people don’t know anything about it. However, you are concerned about us getting a New World Order approved Republican presidential candidate. Unfortunately, we currently have a New World Order approved Democratic president in office.
The following is from an early January 2009 Kissinger interview when he was asked what international conflict would define the Obama administration’s foreign policy.
“The president-elect is coming into office at a moment when there is upheaval in many parts of the world simultaneously,” Kissinger responded. “You have India, Pakistan; you have the jihadist movement. So he can’t really say there is one problem, that it’s the most important one. But he can give new impetus to American foreign policy partly because the reception of him is so extraordinary around the world. His task will be to develop an overall strategy for America in this period when, really, a new world order can be created. It’s a great opportunity, it isn’t just a crisis.”
Ain’t that the truth. Too bad so many of my co-workers either;
A: Can’t remember past what happened last week.
B: Votes for one candidate because he just sounds SOOOOO inspirational when he speaks.
C: Votes for one cadidate because he’ll give them things.
Sorry for the multi posts.
Phat fingers on an iPhone and connection problems.