Health Care Hypocrites

Individual Mandate, Now Vilified By GOP, Was Supported By George H.W. Bush

Though Republican lawmakers now vilify the individual mandate for health insurance coverage as unconstitutional, the provision has long roots in conservative health care philosophy and has been supported by such GOP presidents as Richard Nixon and George H.W. Bush.

Republican administrations were among the first to embrace the concept of forcing individuals to buy coverage. Nixon -- hoping to stave off the single-payer ethos of many congressional Democrats -- explored the idea in the 1970s, though Republicans now dismiss those discussions as the byproduct of a moderate president searching for a domestic policy victory.

Less than two decades later, in what remains an unexplored chapter of health care history, a surprising supporter of the individual mandate was George H.W. Bush. According to contemporaneous reporting, Bush used "the tax system to 'encourage and empower' individuals to buy health insurance and would enact insurance market reforms that make it possible for everyone -- even if they have pre-existing health problems -- to get insurance." In short: individuals would be mandated to buy catastrophic health insurance. The cost of that coverage would be tied to income, meaning that the poorer you were, the less expensive your policy would be.


Ob'omneycare! The Ultimate Mitt Romney 'Obamacare'-vs.-'Romneycare' Double-Talk Train Wreck

What's more enjoyable than watching Mitt Romney attempt to bend, twist and wiggle his way through a contradictory political position? Not much.

Perhaps the biggest challenge facing Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts and 2008 Republican presidential candidate, as he prepares for what will likely be another presidential run in 2012 is that of distinguishing "Obamacare" -- the health care reform recently signed into law by President Obama and the bête noire of Republicans everywhere (which Romney must by necessity oppose with all the Tea Party-ish zeal he can muster) -- from "Romneycare." After all, the latter health care reform signed into law by Romney as Massachusetts governor in 2006 (which he must by necessity defend, since it's his primary legacy as governor) is strikingly similar to Obama's plan.

The headlines have been popping up with increasing frequency since Obama signed health care reform into law last week: "Mitt Romney's Health-Care Dilemma", "Romney leads charge against Obama health plan, although it looks a lot like his own in Mass.", "Pre-existing condition vexes Mitt Romney". Perhaps Matt Yglesias sums it up best: "Mitt Romney was for health care before he was against it. And in 2012, he's headed for a double-talking disaster that would make John Kerry cringe."