Romney is wrong on healthcare

On his campaign website, Romney says he will “pursue” the following policies:

Prevent discrimination against individuals with pre-existing conditions who maintain continuous coverage

Ensure flexibility to help the chronically ill, including high-risk pools, reinsurance, and risk adjustment

Ensure flexibility to help the uninsured, including public-private partnerships, exchanges, and subsidies

In order to accomplish them, Romney will have to do precisely -- nothing.  Obamacare already includes provisions for guaranteed issue, community rating and the widest possible risk pools, which as of January 1st, 2014 ensure that people can get health insurance at the same rate as anyone else regardless of pre-existing conditions.  It also includes exchanges and subsidies.

Yet, if elected, Romney would seek to repeal each of those provisions. 

Romney is wrong.  In the ultimate irony, his vague promises don’t even fully address what’s needed in the individual insurance market:

(1) They would not solve the adverse selection problem.

(2) They mean that applying for insurance would still involve medical underwriting, a time-consuming process that I know from personal experience to be both humiliating and bizarre.

(3) They mean those with pre-existing conditions would still pay more for insurance.

(4) They provide little comfort to those who have difficulty getting insurance.
(5) They would not solve the freeloader problem.

Obamacare fixes all five of these issues.

Moreover, just what does “flexibility” mean?  People want insurance, not ambiguity.  The need is clear: guaranteed issue, community rating and the widest possible risk pool.  On January 1^st, 2014, that is what we will have, provided Romney does nothing.