Republican Presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney has taken criticism from both Republican rivals and Democrats alike since BuzzFeed unearthed a 2009 USA Today op-ed and three videos of the former Massachusetts Governor touting his plan as a model for national health reform. But the summer of 2009 wasn't the only the time that Romney pitched his plan as model for the nation.
In a January 2009 speech to the House Republican Conference retreat at the Congressional Institute in Hot Springs, Virginia the former Governor Romney said his plan could be the basis for a Republican proposal for national health reform. Romney mentions the plan could be based on market dynamics, free choice, and personal responsibility, which typically refers to the individual mandate at the center of Romney's Massachusetts plan.
The comments are accessible via the Web Archive on the former Governor's website FreeStrongAmerica.com.
We should be first to propose a Republican plan to bring health insurance to all Americans, one based on market dynamics, free choice, and personal responsibility. I think what we did in Massachusetts is a good model to start from, but whatever direction we take, let’s not simply react to what the Democrats do. Their own plan would undoubtedly create a vast new system of costly entitlements and bureaucratic dictates, burdening the people and threatening the economy. Americans will be looking for a better alternative. Let’s give it to them.