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Brown On His Health Care Flip-Flop: Mass. Plan Totally Different From Obama Plan
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Scott Brown, the Republican candidate in this Tuesday's special Senate election in Massachusetts, appeared just now on Neil Cavuto's Fox News show, promoting his candidacy and opposing the Democrats' health care program -- and explaining why he supported health care reform in the Massachusetts state Senate.
Cavuto asked Brown why he'd supported an expansion of state involvement in health care, but he's opposing the same thing now. (As we noted, the Massachusetts health care plan passed by the state legislature and signed by then-Gov. Mitt Romney is similar to the Democratic federal plan in many ways, including the individual mandate to purchase health insurance.)
"No, that's not true, they're two different programs. What we have here is a free-market enterprise where we're providing insurance in various levels to people in Massachusetts," said Brown. "The plans in Washington are a one-size-fits-all plan that's gonna cost almost a trillion-plus dollars, raise taxes, at a time when we don't need it. Why are we subsidizing, why would we pay more, for something we already have? It makes no sense."
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mcc
January 13, 2010 5:09 PM
Mwaahahahaha
The only thing funnier than this will be watching Romney try to explain it.
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JohnMcCSF
January 13, 2010 7:30 PM in reply to mcc
A perfect answer for the Fox demographic
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Stroszek
January 13, 2010 5:10 PM
So they're two different programs, but with Romneycare, they already have Obamacare... implying that they're the same program.
Brilliant mind here.
Also, won't the federal subsidies take a major financial burden off the state of Massachusetts? This seems like one of those points Coakley should be making.
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Maritza
January 13, 2010 5:15 PM
This guy is an idiot.
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Stroszek
January 13, 2010 5:16 PM in reply to Maritza
And yet, many so-called "progressives" are rooting for him.
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Maritza
January 13, 2010 5:58 PM in reply to Stroszek
Then they are STUPID too.
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runfastandwin
January 13, 2010 7:11 PM in reply to Stroszek
Name one.
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Walter Mitty
January 13, 2010 5:17 PM
He really should just shut up and try to eek out a win. What's that old saying about it being better to keep ones mouth shut and be assumed to be an idiot rather than opening your mouth and proving it.
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Subliminability
January 13, 2010 5:25 PM in reply to Walter Mitty
If he does eke out a win, I will say "EEK! -- a mouse-brained tea-bagger is sitting in Teddy Kennedy's seat"!
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kenga
January 13, 2010 7:07 PM in reply to Walter Mitty
"eek" is right. I mean, since the MCAS, there's been a decline in teaching of things related to critical reasoning skills in favor of test preparation, but still, I didn't think it would have that great an impact that quickly.
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tpmgary
January 13, 2010 9:41 PM in reply to Walter Mitty
better to keep quiet and be assumed an idiot than open your mouth and remove all doubt? (It's something like that, I think.
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Indie Pro
January 13, 2010 5:27 PM
OK. So "Obamacare" is the same as RomneyCare.
What percentage of people with the mandated Romneycare can't afford to actually use it?
Kaiser commission says: 21%
...the affordability of health care remains a barrier to receiving care for some residents. Of the total population, 21 percent went without needed care in the previous year because of cost. People with disabilities and those in fair and poor health experienced the greatest barriers to accessing care.
http://www.kff.org/uninsured/upload/7777-02.pdf
and from the report by the Commonwealth Fund
"Massachusetts has the most expensive family health insurance premiums in the country"
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Stroszek
January 13, 2010 5:41 PM in reply to Indie Pro
And as Krugman has repeatedly pointed out, the people of Massachusetts like the reforms.
But you're missing the point. The point isn't that Romneycare and the Federal proposals are the same plan. They're not. The Federal proposal has better benefit standards, subsidies and stronger regulations than what you'll get on Connector.
The point is that there's no much difference between the two ideologically. If you don't find Romneycare ideologically offensive, you shouldn't have any problem with the Federal plan. However, Brown says they're two completely concepts. But he also says that Romneycare would make the Federal plan redundant... it wouldn't. It would provide several new regulations and stronger subsidies that would take the burden off the state budget.
So he's contradicting himself and basically making an incoherent argument.
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Stroszek
January 13, 2010 5:42 PM in reply to Stroszek
"two completely different concepts"
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Stroszek
January 13, 2010 5:46 PM in reply to Stroszek
To dig a little deeper into Brown's argument... he's implying that he doesn't like the Federal proposals because they offer more robust benefit packages (i.e., he wants to preserve bare bones "catastrophic" plans that work to further shift the cost burden to women and older people).
But he's also saying Mass doesn't need the Federal proposal because "we already have it." But the first part of his argument directly implies that they don't already have it. They don't have a better benefits package. They don't have subsidies going up to 400% FPL.
So he's trying to make two different contradictory arguments.
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Matt Jones
January 13, 2010 6:30 PM in reply to Stroszek
Of course he's making contradictory arguments - did you notice the (R) next to his name? I have to applaud him for at least having *some* idea of what's actually going on: most of his colleagues don't get past "it's a government takeover of healthcare", which is "WMDs in Iraq"-level wrongness.
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Indie Pro
January 13, 2010 6:32 PM in reply to Stroszek
it is the wage growth in MA, which has kept pace with the rising costs of premiums in MA, but which is not mirrored in the rest of the country. That's the difference.
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Indie Pro
January 13, 2010 7:00 PM in reply to Stroszek
21 percent went without needed care in the previous year because of cost.
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jsdc007
January 13, 2010 6:09 PM
What a liar this Ken doll is. Obamacare is NOT a one size fits all program, and it involves the free market as much, if not more than Romneycare. This being Fox attack pug Neil Cavuto's show, I doubt if Cavuto questioned him on that.
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DaveC
January 13, 2010 6:17 PM
I live in MA.. Guess what..it IS subsidized for low income, maybe not 400% FPL, but I think its 150%. Obama personally inquired Deval Patrick (governor) to see if the system was working. Most of his suggestions for the modeling of the bill came from Massachusetts. Politics as usual for Brown, Vote with the Party!
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jimbomoron
January 13, 2010 6:48 PM in reply to DaveC
It's 300 percent FPL here in the Bay State. That's still not good enough, but it's better than most states.
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rbeats
January 13, 2010 6:17 PM
The "reporter" is so leading with his question and intonation.
I mean come on that isn't even remotely close to unbiased reporting.
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DaveC
January 13, 2010 6:18 PM in reply to rbeats
Why is it unbiased to question contradictions between actions and words?
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rbeats
January 13, 2010 6:21 PM in reply to DaveC
I'm not defending the answer that was given, its BS, its just I almost never click on Fox News links anymore and I forgot just how they report the news. For me what jumped out was how the question was asked, the delivery, the intonation, the look on the guys face etc...
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CVille Dem
January 13, 2010 6:28 PM
Well, I hope this gets complacent Democrats out for this vote. I'm all for it! What if it were reported as a foregone conclusion and all Democrats stayed home and the teabaggers "got out the vote?"
I may eat my words, but I can't imagine Teddy's Senate seat being taken by an empty suit repub -- never mind one who is as ignorant as Sarah Palin
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Walter Mitty
January 13, 2010 6:38 PM
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/13/ma-senate-candidate-brown_n_422399.html
#1-70 Hayden Woods, Wrentham, MA: A 3,000 squared-foot single-family house that is the current principal residence of Brown and his family. The house lies off a cul-de-sac in a recently developed neighborhood near a small lake is nearby. According to financial disclosures, it is valued at $100,000 or more.
#2-1840 Commonwealth Avenue #11-14, Brighton, MA 02135. In October 2007 Brown and wife Gail purchased what property records indicate is two condominium units at 1840 Commonwealth Avenue in the Brighton neighborhood of the city of Boston. The assessed value for #11 is $60,000 to $100,000; for #14 it is $100,000 or more
#3-1870 Commonwealth Avenue #8, Brighton, MA. Brown's 2008 SFI reports ownership of this unit, with a net income derived from it of $1,001 to $5,000. The property itself is valued at $100,00 or more
#4-33 Ocean View Ave. Rye, NH. This property is listed as Brown's second home with an asset value greater than $100,000.
Story continues below
#5-Aruba Timeshare. Brown and presumably his wife have a timeshare on the island that is valued at $10,001 to $20,000
But he has 200K on his truck so he's just like the rest of us...
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ConsideredOpinion
January 13, 2010 6:53 PM
you expect intellectual consistency from a 'conservative Republican' who financed his education by posing nude in Playgirl?
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ConsideredOpinion
January 13, 2010 7:01 PM in reply to ConsideredOpinion
correction: Cosmopolitan
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riomel
January 13, 2010 8:48 PM in reply to ConsideredOpinion
Really? And he's now a member of the Bible-Belters? Well, this plus his flip-flops on health care (with this incomprehensible goobledeegook he just fed Faux Noise)is enough to show Ken Doll is one for consistency, eh?
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ConsideredOpinion
January 13, 2010 9:13 PM in reply to riomel
Absolutely! I've seen the photos (in fact, I downloaded the spread!) I'm sure if you google his name you'll come across many links to them.
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ilovebacon
January 13, 2010 7:18 PM
this guy has as much substance as a russel stover easter bunny.
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ilovebacon
January 13, 2010 7:22 PM
and didn't he film for x-tube?
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ilovebacon
January 13, 2010 8:39 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3ZB9VLUvFM&feature=player_embedded
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riomel
January 13, 2010 8:44 PM
This guy is a twit. This exposure couldn't be better for Democrats in these closing days. People in MA better be paying very close attention to the Manchurian candidate that's supposedly "closing in" on Coakley.
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Seafarer
January 13, 2010 11:20 PM
RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO! RINO!
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Tosh
June 6, 2010 11:10 PM
But you're missing the point. The point isn't that Romneycare and the Federal proposals are the same plan. They're not. The Federal proposal has better benefit standards, subsidies and stronger regulations than what you'll get on Connector.
The point is that there's no much difference between the two ideologically. If you don't find Romneycare ideologically offensive, you shouldn't have any problem with the Federal plan. However, Brown says they're two completely concepts. But he also says that Romneycare would make the Federal plan redundant... it wouldn't. It would provide several new regulations and stronger subsidies that would take the burden off the state budget.
m65 kamagra
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