Letter to the Editor, Jefferson County Leader | Bunnie Gronborg

On March 25, while we were still being entertained by the Republican primaries, Rick Santorum said that Mitt Romney’s ties to RomneyCare would make him the “worst Republican in the country to put up against Barack Obama” in the general election.

In November, America will decide the future of health care reform. On one hand, we have the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or ObamaCare (www.healthcare.gov); and on the other, well, many are uncertain as to what we have. In a schizophrenic whirling dervish act, Romney’s positions on health care change rapidly, depending on his audience.

Candidate Romney at once says he is happy to be called the “Grandfather of Obamacare”, and as Governor Romney on February 2, 2007, he said, “I’m proud of what we’ve done”, and added that the 2006 law “will be a model for the nation”. The Massachusetts law was indeed the model for Obamacare. Gymnast Romney then flips, and says he will repeal Obamacare, but flips again for a different audience and says he will keep some of the provisions, like preventing insurance companies from denying care based on pre-existing conditions. The problem of course is that provisions he “likes” can’t be cherry picked out of the law. Without the “Patient Protection” part of the law, insurance companies would be able to charge an unlimited amount of money for a policy that covers pre-existing conditions.

Well, I’m NOT confused by Romney’s act, because by choosing the author of the Ryan Plan as his VP, and saying he would sign the Ryan Plan into law, Romney has come down on the side of killing Medicare as we know it, and turning it into a worthless coupon program, instead of the guaranteed benefit we have now. Without that guarantee, good luck trying to buy a policy with a coupon on the open market. Costs are shifted to seniors with NO PREMIUM OR COVERAGE GUARANTEES.

As in ObamaCare, the Romney/Ryan Plan makes the same $716,000 billion savings to Medicare (that do not effect any benefits); BUT, the RR Plan sends the money to a slush fund, while ObamaCare returns that savings back to the health system. That savings under ObamaCare extends the life of the Medicare Trust Fund to 2024, while Romney/Ryan only extends it to 2016.

Good luck to parents of sick children with chronic conditions who now have coverage because of Obamacare. Good luck to youth who can now be covered on their parents’ policies until age 26. Romney/Ryan may say they want insurance plans to cover your child, but without the protection of Obamacare, you won’t be able to afford those plans.

Good luck to the elderly, disabled and poor on Medicaid, because the Romney/Ryan Plan will block grant (limit) funding to the states. NO SOUP FOR YOU!

And good luck, Mitt, because I hope and pray your endless flipping act will cause you to flop on November 6.

Bunnie Gronborg Festus, MO