USA Today: Mitt Romney previews health care reform speech in Ann Arbor
State governments should have the flexibility to decide that they don't want to participate in President Barack Obama's health care reforms, likely Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney argued today in an op-ed article for USA Today.
Romney's article is a preview of a major health care reform speech he's set to deliver Thursday at the University of Michigan's Cardiovascular Center in Ann Arbor.
Romney laid out several proposals "to harness the power of markets to drive positive change in health insurance and health care."
He called for Medicaid funding to be sent to states in a block grant, which would give officials more flexibility on how to run the program. He also wants to alter the federal tax code to make it easier for people to buy insurance as individuals, "strengthen" health savings accounts and fight frivolous law suits that drive up the cost of insurance.
Romney's invitation-only speech in Ann Arbor is set for 2 p.m. Thursday.
The university issued a statement today distancing itself from the former Massachusetts governor's speech, saying that the U-M chapter of the College Republicans is paying for the event and that his appearance "does not constitute endorsement of the content of his speech nor of his potential candidacy by the U-M Health System or the University of Michigan."
Meanwhile, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder will not attend Romney's speech, his spokeswoman told AnnArbor.com in an e-mail. Sara Wurfel said that Romney invited the former Ann Arbor venture capitalist to the event but that the governor can't attend or speak to Romney by phone due to scheduling conflicts.
Contact AnnArbor.com's Nathan Bomey at (734) 623-2587 or nathanbomey@annarbor.com. You can also follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's newsletters.
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