Republican presidential hopefuls Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney had a testy sparring match over who is more opposed to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act—the health care reform law—during Wednesday's debate in Arizona. Santorum insisted that “Romneycare”—the reform law passed in Massachusetts when Romney was governor—is the model for President Obama's health care reform law, while Romney countered that political positions taken by Santorum helped ensure the passage of the reform law. Both candidates slammed the health reform law and the individual mandate requiring people to buy health insurance or pay a penalty, and both vowed to rescind the law if elected. Today's Washington Post reported that about 50,000 Americans have so far taken advantage of the law's provision of health insurance to those who have been turned down by private plans because of preexisting conditions.
For coverage of the individual mandate see Psychiatric News here. Learn more about the health reform law in the APA publication, "Health Care Reform: A Primer for Psychiatrists," here.
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