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Congress is debating legislation that would do essentially what Mitt Romney did in Massachusetts:  impose a health insurance mandate, create a network of subsidies, and micro-manage health insurance policies.  Before legislators take us down the same road, they should consider the Massachusetts experience.  Citizens there are not impressed with RomneyCare.

According to Rasmussen Reports:

In 2006, Massachusetts implemented its own statewide version of health care reform and 32% of the state's voters consider that reform a success. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of the Bay State finds that 36% consider the plan a failure and another 32% are not sure.

Those figures have changed little over the past two months.

Twenty percent (20%) now say that the state's reform effort has made health care more affordable while 31% say just the opposite. Thirty-nine percent (39%) believe it's had no impact on prices and 11% are not sure.

Sixteen percent (16%) say the Massachusetts reform has improved the quality of care in the state while 24% believe the quality of health care in the state has gotten worse. Most, 51%, say there has been no impact on the quality of care.

Should we spend trillions of dollars to do the same thing at the national level?  The answer should be obvious!

View all comments (15) | Leave a comment

Michael Pelletier| 11.28.09 @ 4:35PM

Whether people "believe" that health care is more expensive is so irrelevant as to be laughable. Prices are prices, and what people believe about them has almost nothing to do with reality.

B. Johnson| 11.28.09 @ 4:51PM

Hopefully, more Constitution-defending patriots will point out the following about Romneycare versus Obamacare.

Given that the federal Constitution is silent about public healthcare, the 10th A. automatically reserves government power to regulate healthcare to the states, not the Oval Office and Congress. In fact, the USSC has already decided that Congress has no business regulating the medical practice.

“Direct control of medical practice in the states is obviously beyond the power of Congress.” --Linder v. United States, 1925. http://supreme.justia.com/us/268/5/case.html

So critiques of Romneycare aside, Romneycare is perfectly legal under the Constitution while Obamacare isn't.

Amy| 11.29.09 @ 2:27AM

There is no Government-run health insurance company is Massachusetts. That is what Pelosi and Obama want. How on earth can you compare Romney's plan to Obama's and Pelosi's? The problems with Massachusetts are mostly due to the overwhelmingly liberal legislature and the current governor, Deval Patrick, who has added so much cost to the program that it has become too expensive - you cannot blame that on Romney. Not at all.

G Wentworth| 11.29.09 @ 8:10AM

Without Mitt Romney's health insurance, I would not be able to work. 2 years ago I had a massive brain tumor and then an infection and more. Today, because of Mitt Romney's health insurance, I am back to work as a consultant (many companies are going this way) and make a very good living. If I didn't have this, I would have had to get medical insurance through a state program for the poor (and tax payers would have paid it) since no one would have covered me. And, best of all, I never had to worrry. So, while theory is fun, reality is more important and I'm back to being the contributing member of society I want to be. Thank you Mitt Romney.

Richard Baker| 11.29.09 @ 9:44AM

Amy:
A distinction without a difference.

G wentworth:
Glad you're well. However, if the system goes bankrupt and dies due to insolvency, what good is it? Throwing money down a hole is still money down a hole.

Lazy Jack| 11.29.09 @ 10:03AM

Carl Sagan often said, “It strains credulity.” He said it whenever he encountered a popular concept that millions believed in with little or no proof. His implication was that many of our belief systems were without reason, little more than faith, and unsupportable by facts or observations. For example, space aliens abducting millions of humans and breeding with us is a concept that strains credulity, but one that is taken on faith by a large portion of humanity.

The federal government is now clamoring to create a healthcare mandate plagiarized from the Massachusetts work of fiction. At time when even the Boston Globe is forced to report that costs are increasing at annual rates well into the double digits, that a couple of hundred thousand remain uninsured, and that the long term viability of the program is in doubt without, surprise, tax increases, it is hardly surprising that congress is ready to clone the program. For your benefit, of course. And none of the bad stuff evident in Massachusetts is going to happen nationally. And Frankenstein’s experiment was a complete success too. Strains credulity, indeed.

For more see:

http://www.cato.org/pubs/bp/bp112.pdf
http://thanksforthelaughs.word.....ealthcare/

Lazy Jack

Ken (Old Texican)| 11.29.09 @ 11:37AM

First of all, I wouldn't trust ANY bill punched out by the idiots in congress today. Nor would I trust in the simple honesty of the Communist, (pardon the shorthand), in the Whitehouse who would sign the bills.
That's a hellof a note isn't it?
PS: Folks, I hope you will check out the new articles on American Thinker today. Chilling!

Denver Todd| 11.30.09 @ 9:39AM

I surfed around the Massachusetts healthcare insurance website and found that the insurance plans they offered were about twice as expensive as what I am paying now.

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Having made my case, I think it's fair to say that its clear. When promo codes usa is incorporated, one finds many new things.

Whey Protein Isolate| 4.6.10 @ 5:18AM

I want to say only a thing that you have given this figure is very well. I mean you have to work hard for this figures.

Stacey Burke Chiropractor | 7.27.10 @ 3:02PM

The first problem is that we call it healthcare when in reality its sickness care. If we approached it as sickness care then people may start to assume some of the responsibility and understand why the price is the price. Sickness care is expensive and most of the time you become a long term client, that costs a lot of money.

Darrell Smith| 8.25.10 @ 5:29PM

Thanks for the post! Health care has been such a big issue recently, it's interesting to see everyone's points of view.

Helthy| 12.2.10 @ 12:50PM

great subject...

naturalhemorrhoidremedies.com| 5.9.12 @ 7:47PM

With more and more people living unhealthy lifestyles we're headed towards a crisis in healthcare.

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