Surveying Romney’s Health Advisers; The Pressures He Faces If He Wins
News outlets examine the role Micheal Leavitt and his associates will have on Romney's health policy and the expectation that a new president can change the health law quickly.
National Journal: Who Is Shaping Romney's Health Policy?
Romney's health advisers haven't been frequent speakers on the D.C. health policy circuit. And they aren't the people House Republicans summon to Capitol Hill to excoriate Democrats’ health care law. What they share is a connection to Mike Leavitt, the man who will lead transition planning if Romney wins the White House. The former Utah governor is mild mannered and not known for partisan rancor. A fellow Mormon and onetime head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Leavitt combines policy wonkiness with the political deftness he acquired during his gubernatorial tenure. If Romney wins, Leavitt would have a big role in implementing the health reforms the campaign is proposing. In the Bush years, he led the rollout of the Medicare prescription drug plan known as Part D. Despite initial confusion among seniors, the plan eventually attracted millions of enrollees and is now one of the most popular pieces of Medicare (McCarthy, 8/29).
Politico: At RNC, High Hopes, Scant Patience For ACA Repeal
If Romney wins in November, he’ll face intense pressure to quickly prove that he’s serious about stopping "Obamacare." If he doesn't show results quickly, he could face an angry electorate -- an electorate that doesn’t understand how the fine points of parliamentary rules and the regulatory process can wreak havoc on a high octane Washington timeline. At the Republican National Convention, expectations are high. Grover Norquist, the influential head of Americans for Tax Reform, wants Romney to get the law repealed within a month of taking office. Maybe even less, via a budget process called reconciliation. "So, first you do the budget, then you do reconciliation. So it may take a few days," he told Politico (Haberkorn, 8/29).