On the recordSeptember 10, 2012
I thoroughly agree with my friend from Illinois. Governor Romney makes the statement. It is on a very popular well-viewed Sunday talk show, ``Meet The Press.'' So the average American says: Oh, Governor Romney, he is for keeping coverage for preexisting conditions. That is good. That is nice to know. They do not hear the clarification that came about later because that was not on ``Meet The Press.'' That was sort of under the radar, when they said they wanted to clarify what Governor Romney meant was he would prevent discrimination against individuals with preexisting conditions who maintain continuous coverage. As the Washington Post pointed out, there are 89 million Americans who would be disqualified because they had a plan, they lost it because they moved or something like that, and picked up another plan. There goes their coverage. Just think about that. You are a family. Let's say your spouse has a preexisting condition--it could be diabetes, it could be cancer, it could be anything--but you have been covered under a plan. President Obama, with the Affordable Care Act, ObamaCare, says beginning in 2014, just as we now cover children, no plan can discriminate against you because of a preexisting condition. What Romney is saying with his clarification is only if you have always had that plan. What if you are a family that moved from one State to another due to a job issue?…
