The Romney campaign articulated this week that Romney would implement a policy that protects people with pre-existing conditions only if there is no break in their coverage, while not guaranteeing insurance to those who have not been continuously insured. Though Romney has expressed this opinion before — notably in an exchange with Jay Leno — the Obama team pounced. “Mitt Romney just clarified the choice in this election – he’d put insurance companies back in charge,” Obama campaign deputy manager Stephanie Cutter said in a statement Wednesday evening. “People living with pre-existing conditions from asthma to breast cancer are on their own if Mitt Romney is elected president and millions more would lose their health insurance.”
The Romney campaign isn’t backing down about their position. As spokesperson Andrea Saul put it to the Huffington Post on Wednesday:
…Governor Romney supports reforms to protect those with pre-existing conditions from being denied access to a health plan while they have continuous coverage. And for those purchasing insurance for the first time, he supports reforms that empower states to make high risk pools more accessible by using cost reducing methods like risk adjustment and reinsurance.
