This is a blog for the Mental Health Policy Class at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work.

August 23, 2007

Romney's rhetoric glosses Massachusetts years

On the presidential campaign trail, Mitt Romney points to healthcare reform as his major achievement as Massachusetts governor, presenting the plan as an example of how he used conservative principles to provide affordable health insurance for all state residents without a government takeover. But he does not mention aspects of the plan that may hold less appeal for his Republican audiences. For example, he decries "socialized medicine" and says the Massachusetts plan is "all a private initiative, a private-based, market-based healthcare" -- omitting the fact that the state and federal governments subsidize much of the overall cost and that a public board negotiated the benefits and prices that private insurers now offer. . . .

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