Mitt Romney – Where the Candidates Stand – Part 12

Mitt Romney has attacked many of his rivals’ plans as being "socialized medicine".  He recently changed his healthcare Web page on his campaign site to showcase a "plan" but it, like many of the candidates, is less a plan than it is a collection of goals and aspiration.  He believes in no national plan and instead wants to move to deregulate the industry so that states can set up their own initiatives.  Here is an outline of his thoughts:

Overview – "Use A Free Market, Federalist Approach To Make Quality, Affordable Health Insurance Available To Every American

• Deregulate State Markets. Encourage states to eliminate the cumbersome insurance regulations that drive costs up and providers out of the market.
• Fix The Tax Code. Level the playing field by making all health care expenses tax deductible, eliminating the special treatment afforded employer-provided health plans.
• Stop The Free-Riders. Use some of the money currently spent on providing expensive "free care" for the uninsured at emergency rooms to instead help the truly needy buy private insurance.
• Reform The Medical Liability System. Institute federal caps on non-economic and punitive damage awards to eliminate frivolous lawsuits and bring an end to the practice of defensive medicine.
• Promote Innovation In Medicaid. Give states flexibility to spend their Medicaid dollars in whatever way they find most efficient and effective.
• Bring Health Care Into The 21st Century. Improve quality and enhance transparency by introducing the same competitive forces that drive innovation in other sectors of the economy."

Respecting our five domains:

1. Importation of Drugs – he doesn’t say. 
2. Medicare Part D Reform – he doesn’t say. 
3. Pharmaceutical Marketing Restrictions- he doesn’t say. 
4. Follow-on-Biologic Regulation – no indication.
5. Generic Promotion – no indication.

Analysis: None possible here for our domains.