Friday, August 12, 2011

Rick Perry vs Mitt Romney on Health Care: Who Wins?

Forbes has published healthcare expert Avik Roy’s comparison of the difference between Mitt Romney’s plan in Massachusetts, and Rick Perry’s result in Texas.  I am posting this, of course, because of the imminent announcement tomorrow of Rick Perry seeking the Republican presidential nomination.

Roy finds after an exhaustive (but readable) analysis that the conclusion depends on what one seeks.  If universal healthcare (whatever that means) is your goal, then Romneycare would be the plan you would favour.  If, however, you seek to lower costs for a healthcare system, then Perry clearly is the winner, primarily through Perry’s successful campaign for tort reform in Texas (which is anathema to the Democrats and their lock-step Trial Lawyers Association).
As I said at the top, who you favor between Romney and Perry will depend in large part upon what your priorities are in health care policy.  My personal view is that universal coverage is illusory, if the ultimate consequence of universal coverage is that people can’t afford, or gain access to, basic health care.

It is Rick Perry’s Texas that has done more to keep the growth of health costs down, and we should spend more time drawing lessons from his Lone Star State.

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