Romney Campaign Press Release - Santorum's Repeated and Discredited Falsehoods on Health Care

FALSEHOOD: Santorum Wrongly Called Governor Romney's Health Care Reforms "Government-Run Health Care":

FactCheck.org Said Santorum's Claim That Romney Instituted A "Government-Run Health Care System" Was "Not True." "Santorum wrong on 'government-run' health care: Santorum called [Romney's health care] law 'a government-run health care system.' That's not true." ("South Carolina Smackdown," FactCheck.org, 1/20/12)

• FactCheck.org: "Santorum Wrong On 'Government-Run' Health Care" ("South Carolina Smackdown," FactCheck.org, 1/20/12)

PolitiFact: "We Rate Santorum's Claim Mostly False." "Santorum called Romney's health law 'a top-down, government-run health care system.' ... We rate Santorum's claim Mostly False." (Molly Moorhead, "Rick Santorum Calls Massachusetts Health Law Top-Down And Government-Run," PolitiFact.com, 1/27/12)

• "There's No Case To For Calling It 'Government-Run' ... That Characterization Is Simply Wrong." (Molly Moorhead, "Rick Santorum Calls Massachusetts Health Law Top-Down And Government-Run," PolitiFact.com, 1/27/12)

The Washington Post: "Santorum Goes Too Far ... It Looks Like A Decidedly Free-Market Plan." "[Santorum] goes too far in calling it a 'government-run health-care system.' The vast majority of Bay State residents ... still use some form of private insurance ... Couple that with the fact that the program doesn't include price controls, and it looks like a decidedly free-market plan." (Josh Hicks, "Rick Santorum's Debate Attacks Against Mitt Romney," The Washington Post, 1/24/12)

FALSEHOOD: Santorum Claimed Governor Romney's Health Reforms Led To Sick People Missing Out On Care Because Of High Costs:

The Washington Post Found "No Proof" Of Santorum's Claim That Romney's Health Reforms Exacerbated The Problem Of Sick People Missing Out On Care Due To High Costs. "Santorum suggested that Romney's reform law exacerbated the problem of sick people missing out on care because of high costs. He's only right to the extent that any amount of unmet need poses a problem. But the fact remains that Massachusetts has shown improvement in this area, at least according to the latest statistics we could find. We found no proof of the candidate's one-in-four claim." (Josh Hicks, "Rick Santorum's Claims About Massachusetts Health Reforms," The Washington Post, 1/30/12)

FALSEHOOD: Santorum Suggested Governor Romney's Health Care Reforms Dramatically Increased Insurance Premiums:

FactCheck.org Found Santorum's Claims On Massachusetts' Premiums Were Not True. "Santorum wrong on premium costs: Santorum claimed Massachusetts premiums are the highest in the country, 27 percent more than average. Neither claim is true." ("South Carolina Smackdown," FactCheck.org, 1/20/12)

FALSEHOOD: Santorum Gave A "Misleading View" Of The Romney Health Care Law's Impact On Doctor Wait Times:

FactCheck.org: Santorum "Gave A Misleading View Of The Law's Impact On Waiting Times To See Doctors." "Santorum also gave a misleading view of the law's impact on waiting times to see doctors ... Those numbers come from reports by the Massachusetts Medical Society, which said in 2009 that the average wait time in the state for both family medicine and internal medicine was 44 days. But the group has been lamenting long wait times and doctor shortages for many years, since before the law was enacted ... The medical society said that 'primary care shortages continue in Massachusetts, but they predate health reform by many years, and mirror shortages in many other areas of the country.' ... It's hard to draw firm conclusions on the law's impact." ("South Carolina Smackdown," FactCheck.org, 1/20/12)

FALSEHOOD: Santorum Has Repeatedly Made The Discredited Claim That Governor Romney Wanted The Massachusetts Plan For The Entire Country:

Santorum Has Repeated The Discredited Claim That Romney Wanted The Massachusetts Plan For The Entire Country. "In a Republican presidential debate on Oct. 11, 2011, Texas Gov. Rick Perry attacked Romney saying that in his book No Apology, Romney called the Massachusetts health care reform he enacted a model for the nation and said that he deleted the passage from the paperback version. During an Oct. 18 debate in Las Vegas, it was Rick Santorum on the attack. 'It was in your book that it should be for everybody,' the former Pennsylvania senator told Romney. 'You took it out of your book,' he added." (Molly Moorhead, "Rick Santorum Has It Wrong On Mitt Romney's Book," PolitiFact.com, 10/18/11)

PolitiFact: "That's An Exaggeration ... Mostly False." "[Romney] was in fact presenting a defense of state-level choice — not a pitch for a mandatory national approach.  We rated Perry's comment Mostly False. Now Santorum has said, 'It was in your book that it should be for everybody,' and added that Romney took the assertion out in a later edition. That's an exaggeration. We rate his statement Mostly False." (Molly Moorhead, "Rick Santorum Has It Wrong On Mitt Romney's Book," PolitiFact.com, 10/18/11)