President(?) Romney on Health Coverage

Mitt Romney, the Republican Massachussetts governor who appears to be gearing up for a run at the Presidency in 2008, discusses his new mandated health care program in a Wall Street Journal editorial. Romney's program involves:

1. More ready access to benefits for those eligible for Medicaid;
2. Subsidized health insurance for those who are ineligible for Medicaid but not able to afford coverage;
3. Health insurance reform reducing mandated benefits in order to enable insurers to offer less expensive coverages; and
4. A requirement that all people acquire health insurance (similar to requirements that all drivers purchase auto insurance).

Joe Paduda is correct that the program does not contain cost containment mechanisms, though it should be added that mandatory coverage reduces anti-selection and will help spread the cost of insurance coverage. As such, the Massachussetts program offers an interesting experiment that bears watching across the rest of the nation.