Health Care

WSJ: Gingrich Applauded Romney's Health Plan

On December 27, 2011, the Wall Street Journal reported:

Newt Gingrich voiced enthusiasm for Mitt Romney's Massachusetts health-care law when it was passed five years ago, the same plan he has been denouncing over the past few months as he campaigned for the Republican presidential nomination.

TPM: Romney, Who Says He Didn’t Fully Understand Medicaid, Bought A Hospital Company At Bain

On December 16, 2011, Talking Points Memo reported:

Mitt Romney took a turn for the folksy in Iowa on Friday, telling an audience that, like many people, he didn’t fully understand what Medicaid did until late in life. “You know, I have to admit, I didn’t know the differences between all these things until I got into government,” Romney said. “Then I got into it and I understood that Medicaid is the health care program for the poor, by and large.” It’s a bit of an odd claim considering that Romney, while at Bain Capital, led a $311 million buyout of a huge hospital business that drew its income primarily from health care entitlements.

VIDEO: Romney's Washington Examiner Editorial Board Interview – Best Of

Last week, Mitt Romney spoke at length with the editorial board of the Washington Examiner. American Bridge compiled a video of the best moments. Take a look.

VIDEO: Will Romney Run From His '07 RJC Speech?

On December 7, Mitt Romney is addressing the Republican Jewish Coalition's Republican Presidential Candidates Forum in Washington, DC. When addressing the same group during his last run for the White House in 2007, Romney lauded his health care plan and insinuated it should be a model for national health care reform (as he has done on numerous occasions). Will he say the same thing this year?

Journal Sentinel: Tommy Thompson pushes for focus on adult stem cells

On November 9, 2011, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported:

A decade after he helped persuade a president to allow funding of some embryonic stem cell research, Tommy Thompson, the former Wisconsin governor and presumptive U.S. Senate candidate, paid a visit to the Vatican on Wednesday to deliver a very different message. In Rome, Thompson, who is Roman Catholic, portrayed himself as a strong proponent of adult stem cells - cells that aren't culled from embryos - while appearing to brush aside the embryonic stem cell research he once defended.

Missoulian: Rehberg’s budget plan assailed by Democrats and conservatives alike

On October 9, 2011, the Missoulian reported:

As he oversees U.S. House Republicans' draft of the federal government's 2012 health and education budgets, Montana Rep. Denny Rehberg finds himself hip-deep in the Washington, D.C., political fray, defending a $153 billion plan that's drawing fire from all sides.

Helena IR: Rehberg in the thick of budget fray

On October 9, 2012 the Helena Independent Record reported:

As he oversees U.S. House Republicans’ draft of the federal government’s 2012 health and education budgets, Montana Rep. Denny Rehberg finds himself hip-deep in the Washington, D.C., political fray, defending a $153 billion plan that’s drawing fire from all sides. The proposal — unveiled last week — would torpedo virtually all funding for the Obama Administration’s health reform law, including additional money for community health clinics across Montana; ax federal money for two dozen family planning clinics in the state; reduce funds for Pell grants that help low-income students pay college tuition; and scale back money for home-heating assistance. Those and other cutbacks have prompted Democrats to say the “Rehberg budget” unduly targets women, families, students and workers.

Bloomberg: Perry’s Merck Donations Raise Questions About Vaccine Mandate

"Texas Governor Rick Perry ‘s decision to require pre-teen girls to be vaccinated against a virus that causes cervical cancer has ignited debate over whether the presidential hopeful used his office to do favors for political allies. Perry, who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination, received at least $23,500 in campaign contributions from drug-maker Merck & Co., including $5,000 in 2006, the year before he ordered girls throughout the state to take a new Merck vaccine. The drug-maker also has donated about $500,000 to the Republican Governors Association, a group which Perry headed twice and has been among his most generous campaign donors...

Dallas Morning News: Pawlenty endorses Romney, raising some eyebrows

"Tim Pawlenty , the first casualty of Rick Perry's entry in the GOP presidential race, today threw his support to Perry's main rival, Mitt Romney, despite longstanding qualms about Romney's record on health care. [...] Democrats are having all sorts of fun with the conversion. The Democratic National Committee and American Bridge, a liberal political action committee, dusted off a series of damning comments Pawlenty aimed at Romney --- golden oldies date waaaaay back to... a month ago. "Obamacare was patterned after Mitt's plan in Massachusetts. And for Mitt or anyone else to say there aren't substantial similarities or they are not essentially the same plan -- it just isn't credible. So that's why I called it Obamneycare, and I think that's a fair label," Pawlenty said in Ames, Iowa, at an Aug. 11 debate. Two months before that, on Sean Hannity's show, Pawlenty asserted that Romney was directly responsible for the "development and construction of Obamacare." Romney, he said, "was involved in developing it, he really laid the groundwork...I don't think you can prosecute the political case against President Obama if you are a co-conspirator in one of the main charges against the president, on the political level."

Columbia Daily Tribune: Rep. Todd Akin Questions Constitutionality of Medicare

On September 4, 2011, the Columbia Daily Tribune reported:

In a meeting yesterday with Central Missouri tea party activists, U.S. Rep. Todd Akin said he has doubts about the constitutionality of Medicare and thinks global warming “is highly suspect.” Akin, a six-term congressman seeking the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate, spent much of the 75 minutes attacking the expansive nature of the federal government, calling his opposition to federal health care changes a struggle against tyranny. The meeting was attended by about two dozen tea party activists. [...] Akin’s remarks questioning the constitutionality of Medicare came as he was explaining his vote against prescription coverage under the medical plan for seniors and people with disabilities. He said it was too expensive, and “it was expanding an entitlement I wasn’t too comfortable with to begin with.” Asked about the remarks after the meeting, Akin said, “I don’t find in the Constitution that it is the job of the government to provide health care.”