Romney: Mass. health reform helped women without cutting Medicare

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

(CBS News) Mitt Romney on Sunday pointed to the health care reforms he implemented in Massachusetts as proof that his policies would benefit women, even as he blasted President Obama's federal health care reforms. The difference between the two plans, Romney said, was that his Massachusetts reforms protected Medicare, the popular government health care program for seniors.

"With regards to women's health care, look, I'm the guy that was able to get health care for all of the women and men in my state," Romney said on Fox News Sunday. "They're just talking about it at the federal level. We actually did something, and we did it without cutting Medicare and without raising taxes, number one."

In the wake of controversial remarks that Republican Senate candidate Todd Akin made about rape and abortion, President Obama and his party have ratcheted up their argument that Mr. Obama's policies are better for women's health and reproductive rights -- even though Romney and most other Republicans denounced Akin's remarks. Yet even before the Akin controversy arose, the president was touting the benefits of his health care overhaul for women.

The president currently enjoys a strong lead among women voters over Romney, but Romney this weekend stepped up efforts to reach out specifically to women.

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Mr. Obama's federal health care reforms were modeled after Romney's Massachusetts plan, but Romney reiterated Sunday that he wants to repeal the federal policy changes, including the more than $700 billion cuts to Medicare enacted as part of Mr. Obama's plan. Medicare, he said, "obviously affects a lot of women."

"The way the president cut Medicare, $716 billion for current retirees, that's a real problem," Romney added.

Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace pointed out that Medicare's own trustees have concluded that repealing Mr. Obama's reforms would in fact leave Medicare insolvent by 2016 -- eight years earlier than with Mr. Obama's reforms in place. The Romney campaign has called that conclusion "absurd."

Romney told Wallace he would keep Medicare solvent by replacing Mr. Obama's reforms, which would keep overall health care costs down and thus preserve the government program for seniors. His replacement plan, Romney said, includes "a whole series of things."

"One is to have individuals be able to purchase their own insurance and do so on a tax-advantage basis," Romney said. "If you take action that helps bring down the cost of health care, slow down health inflation, that also helps Medicare. But one thing is for sure, putting money back into Medicare helps it, it doesn't hurt it."

Romney said that voters will see through Democrats' efforts to tie Republicans to Akin's remarks on rape and abortion.

"It obviously is being used by Democrats to try and cast a shadow on our entire party and it's not," Romney said. "The leaders of our party have pretty much unanimously said, you know, Mr. Akin, get out of the race."

[John_Swift]

That $716 billion figure comes from a CBO estimate on how much more money the government would be wasting on excessive administrative costs and Medicare fraud over the next ten years if we were to repeal the Affordable Care Act. A large portion of the figure comes from reducing government subsidies to private insurance companies through the Medicare Advantage program, who had been over-charging for services by a substantial margin over what it would cost to provide the same services directly through Medicare. Another part comes from reducing hospital reimbursement rates, which hospitals have agreed to because they would simultaneously be relieved of having to deal with the expense of treating so many uninsured people as the Affordable Care Act goes into effect.

The Romney campaign obviously wants senior citizens to misconstrue these efficiency measures as cuts to the actual services provided by Medicare. But with this particular line of attack, Mr. Romney is actually campaigning in favor of a return to bloated, wasteful spending, fraud, and abuse of the system by private insurers. Oh I know they have their own plans for overhauling Medicare, essentially by shifting the administration of the program over to the private sector. But for some reason they don't seem to be saying much about the details of the Romney-Ryan plan for Medicare.

[Lilyvale]

Shoot for the sky looking for your own "tax advantages" under the Romney Medicare plan. Yeah.

[EricB_727]

Relax guys... he's only joking! Wink wink

[rayward73446]

Romney can't get his facts straight, nor tell the truth. Most people can see a snake oil salesman because of the lies he tells. Romney and Ryan both are using fear to sell their bogus programs so that they can gut social security, medicade and medicare. Flim Flamers use the same age old tactic of fear and lies to fool people into thinking they will help them. These con men, including Romney and Ryan, then steal from and cheat those who belived in them. Wake up America! If you do believe these guys attacks and lies you will regret trusting them, and empower them to do as they wish after they get in office. Don't become their victims, and make me into one of their victims along with you.

[Eco99]

I call BS. He cannot make that claim while also distancing himself from his Health Care work in Mass and attacking Obama for a similar Act on a national level. This guy is like a droplet of water dancing around a hot skillet. He is all over the board on any issue depending on which way the wind is blowing. Oh and don't forget tree heights, LOL.

[venusvegasvada]

HEY MITT. SCREW ALL YOUR CHANGING THE SUBJECT, RAZZLE-DAZZLE.

WE WANT TO SEE THE LAST 12 YEARS OF YOUR TAX RETURNS NOW.

NOT LATER, BUT RIGHT NOW. TODAY.

[nearl451]

Since he is not proposing solutions for the nation that were implemented in Mass., the bragging point is somewhat moot.

[AOCGUY]

Wait just a freakin minute. ObamaCare (not my choice of title) is a disaster but RomneyCare helps women (ObamaCare modeled after RomneyCare). Make up your freakin mind.

[cubscout09]

Romney flat out lies, again.

*Tax penalties on residents for failing to obtain an insurance plan:
2007 $219. After 2008, 50% of the lowest insurance premium available.

*Tax penalties on employers for failing to offer an insurance plan to employees: An annual fair share contribution that will not exceed $295 per employee per year. An additional Free Rider Surcharge that can be assessed to employers who do not arrange for a pre-tax payroll deduction system for health insurance.

Financial shortfalls were covered by Medicaid.

[ludvig1-2009]

Etch a sketch.