Romney’s Stance On Pre-Existing Conditions Unclear, Likely To Erase Reforms Made With Obamacare
Mitt Romney’s strong showing at the debate has pushed him ahead in presidential polls this week, tying the candidate evenly with President Obama in key polling areas — but many have wondered whether Romney will get specific about some of his debate talking points, including his policy regarding pre-existing conditions and provisions made for the circumstance under Obamacare.
In the past, Mitt Romney has been clear that he believes that pre-existing conditions should only be covered under the condition that an individual has maintained continuous coverage. Romney even went head to head with Jay Leno, of all people, about the issue on the late-night host’s show, maintaining a hard line that whether a person fell on hard times or not, pre-existing conditions should only be covered if continuous coverage is maintained — which is kind of the sticking point with pre-existing conditions.
As the election looms and Romney is taken to task for a vague platform on many key issues, experts wonder exactly how Romney’s stance on pre-existing conditions will shake out, or whether voters will learn more before election day.
Insurance market expert Karen Pollitz of the non-partisan Kaiser Family Foundation said Romney’s pre-existing conditions policy will matter big-time for many Americans — Pollitz explains:
“The ACA just says insurance companies can’t discriminate against you, period … If you’ve been uninsured, you can come into this market on January 1, 2014, no questions asked.”
Longtime GOP health policy adviser and health economist Gail Wilensky admits:
“It will solve some of the problems … It won’t solve the problem of people having gone for a long time without health insurance.”
Indeed, it seems that Romney’s presumable stance on pre-existing conditions occludes the most important aspect, which is when coverage is lost due to unforeseeable circumstances. Romney has not yet clarified his position on pre-existing conditions following the debate.
