PRESS RELEASE from Romney for President
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
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CONTACT: Romney Press Office
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March 23, 2012
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MITT
ROMNEY CALLS FOR REPEAL OF OBAMACARE, PRESENTS HIS OWN VISION FOR
HEALTH CARE, AND ANNOUNCES MEMBERS OF POLICY ADVISORY GROUP
Romney
Outlines
Vision For A Health Care System Guided By State Flexibility,
Market Competition, And Consumer Choice
“Today
Obamacare
is
two years old, but the American people are not
celebrating, and neither is the White House. We must repeal this
law
immediately.” – Mitt Romney
Boston, MA –
Today in Metairie, Louisiana, Mitt Romney leveled harsh criticism
against President Obama’s failed health care reform. “It was always a
liberal pipedream that a 2,700 page, multi-trillion dollar federal
takeover could actually address the very serious problems we face with
health care,” said Romney. “Sadly, the law itself is fast becoming the
national nightmare that I and other critics have always predicted.”
Romney noted that, contrary to President Obama’s claims in promoting
the law, costs are already exceeding projections, insurance premiums
are expected to rise dramatically, millions of Americans are facing the
loss of their health plans, and Medicare beneficiaries are bracing for
substantial cuts.
Romney
repeated his commitment to repeal Obamacare, and outlined his vision
for a health care system guided by state flexibility, market
competition, and consumer choice that will provide higher quality care
at a lower cost to all Americans. “Everyone can agree that health care
is broken,” said Romney. “So the last thing we should do is allow
Obamacare to freeze the current system in place. Instead, we need to
encourage innovation at every level. States should have the flexibility
to pursue new policy approaches. Insurers and providers should
have
the opportunity to compete in a genuine market. Most importantly,
patients should have the information and control they need to make
choices about what they actually want.”
Romney
also announced members of his Health Care Policy Advisory Group: Scott
Atlas, Tom Barker, Scott Gottlieb, Paul Howard, and Tevi Troy.
This
group will help Romney design policies that will strengthen the health
care system nationally while giving states the power to innovate and
individuals the power to control their own health care decisions.
“I’m
honored to have the support of this thoughtful and experienced group of
advisors,” said Romney. “I look forward to working with them to
help
deliver the health care system that the American people want.”
“I
think I speak for all members of the group in saying that we are
thrilled to be supporting Governor Romney and working with him on this
critical issue,” said Troy. “He has been a strong, conservative
leader
on health care reform and I believe he is the one candidate who can
reverse the damage done by President Obama and put this nation on a
path to market-based health care reform.”
A Health Care System Guided By State
Flexibility, Market Competition, And Consumer Choice
As
president, Mitt Romney will repeal Obamacare. This effort will
begin
on Day One, by issuing an Executive Order paving the way for Obamacare
waivers to all fifty states. Then, he will pursue reforms at the
national level that will create the conditions for a thriving,
market-based health care system. These include:
Restoring State Leadership And
Flexibility
Romney
will begin by returning states to their proper place in charge of
regulating local insurance markets and caring for the poor, uninsured,
and chronically ill. States will have both the incentive and the
flexibility to experiment, learn from one another, and craft the
approaches best suited to their own citizens.
· Block grant
Medicaid and other payments to states
· Limit federal
standards and requirements on both private insurance and Medicaid
coverage
· Ensure
flexibility to help the uninsured, including public-private
partnerships, exchanges, and subsidies
· Ensure
flexibility to help the chronically ill, including high-risk pools,
reinsurance, and risk adjustment
· Offer
innovation grants to explore non-litigation alternatives to dispute
resolution
Promoting Free Markets And Fair
Competition
Competition
drives improvements in efficiency and effectiveness, offering consumers
higher quality goods and services at lower cost. It can have the
same
effect in the health care system, if given the chance to work.
· Cap
non-economic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits
· Empower
individuals and small businesses to form purchasing pools
· Prevent
discrimination against individuals with pre-existing conditions who
maintain continuous coverage
· Facilitate IT
interoperability
Empowering Consumer Choice
For
markets to work, consumers must have the information and the power to
make decisions about their own care. Placing the patient at the
center
of the process will drive quality up and cost down while ensuring that
services are designed to provide what Americans actually want.
· End tax
discrimination against the individual purchase of insurance
· Allow
consumers to purchase insurance across state lines
· Unshackle HSAs
by allowing funds to be used for insurance premiums
· Promote
“co-insurance” products
· Promote
alternatives to “fee for service”
· Encourage
“Consumer Reports”-type ratings of alternative insurance plans
Background
On Members Of The Romney Health Care Policy Advisory Group:
Scott Atlas
is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and a professor and the
chief of neuroradiology at the Stanford University Medical Center.
Tom Barker
served as Deputy General Counsel at the Department of Health and Human
Services from 2003 to 2007 and as General Counsel in 2008.
Scott Gottlieb served
as Deputy Commissioner for Medical and Scientific Affairs at the Food
and Drug Administration from 2005 to 2007. He is currently a
resident
fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a practicing physician.
Paul Howard is a senior fellow
at the Manhattan Institute and director of the Institute’s Center for
Medical Progress.
Tevi Troy
served as Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services from 2007 to
2009. He is currently a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute.
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