He writes:
Right off the bat, Mitt Romney chose the wrong goal. The Republican governor of Massachusetts, like many other health-care reformers, wants to achieve "universal coverage." Unfortunately, universal coverage is impossible.
I think France, Canada, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Britain, and a handful of others would probably disagree, seeing as how they've actually done it. Now, universal coverage -- which Romney's plan doesn't offer -- may not be desirable, but it's certainly possible.
It's interesting. During the run-up to the Iraq War, you heard much about how incoherent Democrats sounded because an appetite for foreign adventurism wasn't a common motivation for young liberals. Maybe so, maybe not. But watching the right comment on the Romney plan has certainly proved that precious few folks enter Republican politics to talk about health care. It's been downright embarrassing. Someone should alert Ponnuru to the bill's "affordability clause", which exempts folks for whom purchasing health insurance would not meet some yet-to-be-defined test of affordability from the mandate. They should also let him know that nearly every other industrialized country has true universal health insurance. That's not to say their plans are good or desirable (though I certainly think they are), but the goal is clearly achievable.
For more misguided commentary on the MA bill, check here.
