He wrote in 2006, "Some of my libertarian friends balk at what looks like an individual mandate. But remember, someone has to pay for the health care that must, by law, be provided: Either the individual pays for the taxpayers pay. A free ride on the government is not libertarian." - , p. 91, "Landmark, The Inside Story OF America's New Health-Care Law and What It Means For Us All", The Staff of the Washington Post, 2010
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In a July 30, 2009 USA Today op-ed titled “Mr. President, what’s the rush?,” (http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20090730/column30_st.art.htm) which is also available on MittRomneyCentral.com (http://mittromneycentral.com/op-eds/2009-op-eds/mr-president-whats-the-rush/), Romney urged Obama to “learn a thing or two about health care reform” from his Massachusetts plan that contained the same policy {the individual mandate}, and touted it as effective.
“First, we established incentives for those who were uninsured to buy insurance,” Romney wrote. “Using tax penalties, as we did, or tax credits, as others have proposed, encourages ‘free riders’ to take responsibility for themselves rather than pass their medical costs on to others.”
The revelation could damage the GOP presidential frontrunner, who has been attacked by conservatives for enacting a similar law as “Obamacare,” but has defended himself by saying such an approach is acceptable on a state level, not a federal level.
But the July 30, 2009 op-ed ... makes no such distinction. In fact it implies that the Massachusetts plan is ideal as a federal approach. Romney wrote that “the lessons we learned in Massachusetts could help Washington find” a “better way.”
Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/03/romney-urged-obama-embrace-individual-mandate_n_1318407.html
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In the message board wars, I'm fond of telling these clowns "You don't know what Governor Etch-A-Sketch is going to do if elected since he radically changes his positions depending on which campaign he is running. I hope Romney is elected and jams RomneyCare down your throat"
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I notice that your HuffingtonPost link mentions that "150 million people currently are covered by employer plans." On top of that are 10's of millions who have individual insurance. So the 6 million is a small part of that. And part of the reason for the increase from the earlier estimate of 4 million, according to the CBO, is that some states are not going along with the Medicaid expansion portion of the ACA.
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