Perry Campaign Press Release - Romney Should Repudiate Government-Mandated Health Care

AUSTIN — At his news conference this afternoon, Mitt Romney falsely denied that MIT economist Jonathan Gruber played a key role in creating Romneycare and the individual mandate that served as the blueprint for Obamacare.

"Mitt Romney has real problems shooting straight with the American people, especially on the clear policy and personnel links between Romneycare and Obamacare," said Perry spokesman Mark Miner. "Mr. Romney looked right into the camera and denied the facts — that his advisors helped craft the government-mandated Romneycare and Obamacare health care plans.

"We call on Mr. Romney to repudiate government-mandated health care as crafted in Romneycare and admit his policies and advisors ushered in Obamacare's costly and destructive health care mandates."

• Jonathan Gruber has been identified as a Romney advisor by multiple media outlets over several years:
• • The Boston Globe (April 6, 2006) [1]
  • NPR (April 11, 2006) [2]
  • The New York Times (April 12, 2006) [3]
  • The Wall Street Journal (April 18, 2011) [4]
  • NBC News (Oct. 10, 2011) [5]
• Gruber identifies himself as a "paid advisor to the Romney Administration and Massachusetts Legislature during the development of health care reform in Massachusetts" in a paper he wrote for the National Bureau of Economic Research, published in June 2011. [6]
• On March 29, 2011, The Washington Post wrote, "Aside from Romney, Gruber is the man most responsible for the Massachusetts plan." [7]
• The Washington Post also wrote on March 29, 2011, that Gruber is considered to be "Romney's number one point man on Romneycare." [8]

Gruber's Relationship With Obamacare

• Gruber was awarded a $297,600 consulting contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on June 19, 2009 to provide "technical assistance in evaluating options for national healthcare reform." [9]
• Gruber was previously under a $95,000 contract with HHS from March 25, 2009 to July 25, 2009. [10]
• After advising Romney, Gruber advised Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John Edwards on health-care policy during the 2008 campaign. He has been described as "possibly the [Democratic] party's most influential health-care expert." [11] [12]

Romneycare Paved Way for Obamacare; Romney's Plan Is Just Like Obama's

• The Washington Post reported, "In [Gruber's] opinion, without the Massachusetts plan the federal individual mandate plan wouldn't have garnered acceptance and gotten through." [7]
• Gruber said "it's likely" Obamacare wouldn't have become law without Romneycare. [7]
• Gruber said Romneycare was "widely discussed ... dozens of times" in Obamacare talks. [7]
• Gruber said of Obamacare: "Basically, it's the same thing" as Romneycare. [13]

SOURCES

1. "Health Bill Premiums May Exceed Predictions," Boston Globe, 4/6/06,
   
   http://www.scribd.com/doc/68388881/Health-Bill-Premiums-May-Exceed-Predi...
2. "Massachusetts Renews Discussion on Universal Care," NPR, 4/11/06, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5336532
3. "A Health Fix That Is Not a Fantasy," New York Times, 4/12/06, http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/12/business/12leonhardt.html
4. "Praise Romney Doesn't Need," Wall Street Journal, 4/18/11, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870391600457627099115433337...
5. "White House used Mitt Romney health-care law as blueprint for federal law," NBC News, 10/11/11, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44854320/ns/politics-decision_2012/#.TpRelZw...
6. "The Impacts of the Affordable Care Act: How Reasonable Are the Projections?" Jonathan Gruber, National Bureau of Economic Research, June 2011, http://econ-www.mit.edu/files/6829
7. "EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: RomneyCare author Jonathan Gruber," Washington Post, 3/29/11, http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/post/exclusive-interview-...
8. "Former Romney adviser: Without Romneycare, Obamacare would never have happened," Washington Post, 3/29/11, http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/former-romney-adviser...
9. Federal Business Opportunities, accessed 10/11/11, https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&tab=core&id=3032e84fe1...
   
   
10. "On Jonathan Gruber and disclosure," ABC News, 1/9/10, http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2010/01/on-jonathan-gruber-and-disc...
11. "Clinton Presents Plan For Universal Coverage," Washington Post, 9/18/07, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/17/AR200709...
12. "For Democrats, Pragmatism On Universal Health Care," Washington Post, 7/10/07, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/09/AR200707...

"The New Republic: Why Romney's 2012 Looks Grim," NPR, 3/31/10, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125382175