Bachmann Campaign Press Release - Romneycare = Obamacare

Health policy experts agree, and the President has stipulated, that Governor Mitt Romney's healthcare system in Massachusetts was the inspiration for a national healthcare version in the form of Obamacare.

Romneycare has an individual mandate with penalties for those who don't comply. (Individual Mandate Penalties)

"In 2006 [Romney] boldly stated, 'Every uninsured citizen in Massachusetts will soon have affordable health insurance and the cost of health care will be reduced.' Five years later, that prediction has proved false." (http://www.forbes.com/2011/04/25/health-care-mitt-romney.html)

Massachusetts now features the nation's highest premiums and longest primary physician wait times for newly-insured patients. Romneycare has reduced freedom and choice, and has done little to prevent gaming of the system.

"…56% of physicians are not taking on new patients. Wait times for appointments are climbing."

"Of the previously uninsured individuals who have signed up, 68% are receiving free or subsidized coverage.

"Many of these people aren't even citizens of Massachusetts. A recent report from the Massachusetts Inspector General found that state agencies have failed to implement controls to prevent ineligible people from making claims. In 2010 millions of dollars were spent on medical services for individuals from 48 other states and several foreign countries." (http://www.forbes.com/2011/04/25/health-care-mitt-romney.html)

Romneycare offers unrestricted access to low-cost (and often free) abortions, beyond the requirements of the state Supreme Court rulings.

"Romneycare covers abortions, and the mandate forces citizens to participate in a system which strives to make the murder of unborn children as cheap as $50." (Citizens for Life quoted in http://articles.boston.com/2011-08-03/news/29847315_1_abortion-foes-target-abortion-rights-massachusetts-citizens)

While liberals tout and celebrate the wonderment of Romneycare, most people in Massachusetts have deep regrets. As Romneycare was a prelude to Obamacare, it is also a forecast of what is to come throughout the United States if Obamacare is fully implemented.