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Rick Perry on Health Care

Republican Governor (TX)


Mitt Romney healthcare stances compared to Perry

OnTheIssues' paperback book explores how Romney's healthcare stances differ from Perry's, and where they are similar. We cite details from Romney's books and speeches, and Perry's, so you can compare them, side-by-side, on issues like these:

Romney vs. Perry on Domestic Issues

Source: Paperback: Perry vs. Romney On The Issues , Jan 1, 2012

ObamaCare is an abomination for this country

ROMNEY: I wish Obama had called me [when creating ObamaCare]. I'd have said, "Mr. President, you're going down a very bad path." If I'm President, we're going to get rid of ObamaCare.

PERRY: [Romney] has been for the individual mandate. I'm stunned, Mitt, that you said you wished you could've talked to Obama and said "You're going down the wrong path," because that is exactly the path that you've taken in Massachusetts. [One] study said there've been over $8 billion of additional cost. I wish you could have had the conversation with the people of Massachusetts a long time before that phone call, because the fact of the matter is, you're for individual mandate. And you can talk about "I'm going to repeal ObamaCare." But the record is very clear. You were for individual mandates. And that is the problem. And the question is then, "Who can look Obama in the eye, and say, 'ObamaCare is an abomination for this country,'?" And I'm going to do that. And I can take that fight to him and win that fight.

Source: Yahoo's "Your Voice Your Vote" debate in Iowa , Dec 10, 2011

States innovate on healthcare; feds are one-size-fits-all

Q: Compare your health care ideas and Gov. Romney's mandates?

PERRY: In the state of Texas, from the standpoint of what we've done to make access of health care better, we passed the most sweeping tort reform in the nation in 2003. We also passed Healthy Texas, which expands the private sector insurance, and we've driven down the cost of insurance by 30%. But the real issue for us is Medicaid and how to get the flexibility on Medicaid so that the innovators can occur in the states. I can promise you whether it's Governor Jindal or myself or Susana Martinez over in New Mexico, that's where you'll find the real innovation in health care. The way to deliver health care more efficiently, more effectively is to block grant those dollars back to the state and keep this federal government that has this one-size-fits-all mentality from driving the thought process that we've seen that's destroyed health care in this country today.

Source: 2011 GOP debate at Dartmouth College, NH , Oct 11, 2011

Block-grants to states allows real healthcare innovation

Q: The Washington Post fact-checker noted that Texas has had 16 waivers for Medicaid. How can you say that the problem is that the federal government has not given Texas enough flexibility?

A: They haven't anywhere near given the states [enough flexibility]. I think what you should see is the block granting, not having to go to Washington, D.C. and ask them "Mother, may I?" every time you come up with a concept or an idea. Block granting back to the states, I'll guarantee you the governors and their innovators in their states will come up with ways to better deliver health care more efficiently, more effectively, more cost-efficiently. And that's what this country's looking for, is a president who understands that we have these 50 laboratories of innovation. Free up these states from Washington, D.C.'s one-size-fits-all.

Source: 2011 GOP debate at Dartmouth College, NH , Oct 11, 2011

I will always err on the side of life

BACHMANN: Gov. Perry mandated a health care decision on all 12-year-old little girls in the state of Texas. And by that mandate, those girls had to have a shot for a sexually transmitted disease. That is not appropriate to be a decision that a governor makes. It is appropriate that parents make that decision in consultation with their doctor. But here's the even more important point, because Governor Perry made a decision where he gave parental rights to a big drug company. That big drug company gave him campaign contributions and hired his former chief of staff to lobby him to benefit the big drug company.

PERRY: I got lobbied on this issue. I got lobbied by a 31-year-old young lady who had stage 4 cervical cancer. I readily admitted we should have had an opt-in, in this program. But, I don't know what part of opt-out most parents don't get. And the fact is, I erred on the side of life and I will always err on the side of life as a governor as the president of the United States.

Source: 2011 GOP Google debate in Orlando FL , Sep 22, 2011

We're proud of Texas health system; let Texas decide rules

Q: Texas has the most uninsured residents of any state in the country, 25%. In the last debate, you blamed it on restrictions imposed by the federal government. But we checked: in fact the feds treat Texas like they do all the other big states. Texas has imposed some of the toughest eligibility rules for Medicaid of any state in the country. In fact, you rank 49th in Medicaid coverage. So isn't Texas' uninsured problem because of decisions made by Texas?

PERRY: Well, I disagree with your analysis there because we've had a request in for the federal government so that we could have a Medicaid waiver for years. And the federal government has stopped us from having that Medicaid waiver. Allowing Texas a waiver lets each state decide how they're going to deliver that health care. Not one size fits all. And the fact is, people continue to move to the state of Texas. And our health care is part of that. Our education is part of that. And we are proud of what we put together in the state of Texas.

Source: 2011 GOP Google debate in Orlando FL , Sep 22, 2011

Medicare prescriptions are a $17T hole in our budget

Q: If you were president, would you repeal prescription drug benefits for seniors under Medicare?

PERRY: No. It's a $17 trillion hole that we have in our budget we've got to deal with. And I think that's the issue of, how do you find the savings and still deliver the services? For instance, in Texas, we combined a substantial amount of our health and human services from 10 down to five agencies. We put an Office of Inspector General into place, and we saved over $5.3 billion.

Q: But if you were president, you wouldn't repeal prescription drug benefits for seniors under Medicare?

PERRY: That's what I said when I started the conversation.

Q: [to Romney] How about you?

ROMNEY: I wouldn't repeal it. I'd reform Medicare and reform Medicaid and reform Social Security to get them on a sustainable basis, not for current retirees, but for those in their 20s and 30s and early 50s.

Source: 2011 GOP Tea Party debate in Tampa FL , Sep 12, 2011

I made a mistake on using Executive Order for HPV

Q: You signed an executive order requiring 11- and 12-year-old girls to get a vaccine to deal with a sexually transmitted disease that could lead to cervical cancer. Was that a mistake?

PERRY: It was. And indeed, if I had it to do over again, I would have done it differently. I would have gone to the legislature, worked with them. But what was driving me was, obviously, making a difference about young people's lives. Cervical cancer is a horrible way to die. And I happen to think that what we were trying to do was to clearly send a message that we're going to give moms and dads the opportunity to make that decision with parental opt-out. Parental rights are very important in state of Texas. We do it on a long list of vaccines that are made, but on that particular issue, I will tell you that I made a mistake by not going to the legislature first.

Source: 2011 GOP Tea Party debate in Tampa FL , Sep 12, 2011

HPV order balanced cancer protection against parental choice

BACHMANN: [to Perry]: To have innocent little 12-year-old girls be forced to have a government injection through an executive order [as Perry did for HPV in Texas] is just flat out wrong. That should never be done. It's a violation of a liberty interest.

Q: [to Perry]: Was what you signed a mandate?

PERRY: No, sir it wasn't. It was very clear. It had an opt-out. And at the end of the day, this was about trying to stop a cancer and giving the parental option to opt out of that. And at the end of the day, you may criticize me about the way that I went about it, but at the end of the day, I am always going to err on the side of life. And that's what this was really all about for me.

BACHMANN: In the midst of this executive order there is a big drug company that made millions of dollars because of this mandate.

PERRY: The company was Merck, and it was a $5,000 contribution that I had received from them. I raise about $30 million. And if you're saying that I can be bought for $5,000, I'm offended.

Source: 2011 GOP Tea Party debate in Tampa FL , Sep 12, 2011

RomneyCare OK for MA, but not for TX nor US

Q: [to Romney]: Do you stand by what you did with the health care mandate in Massachusetts?

ROMNEY: Absolutely.

Q: [to Perry]: Can a state like Massachusetts go ahead and pass health care reform, including mandates? Is that a good idea, if Massachusetts wants to do it?

PERRY: Well, that's what Gov. Romney wanted to do, so that's fine. But the fact of the matter is, that was the plan that President Obama has said himself was the model for Obamacare. And I think any of us who know that that piece of legislation will draw a line between the doctor/patient relationship, that will cost untold billions of dollars, is not right for this country. And frankly, I don't think it was right for Massachusetts when you look at what it's costing the people of Massachusetts today. But at the end of the day, that was their call. So, from a just purely states get to decide what they want to do, I agree with that. And in the state of Texas, we don't think that's the way we want to go.

Source: 2011 GOP Tea Party debate in Tampa FL , Sep 12, 2011

Individual mandate just won't work

Q: [to Perry]: Was the Massachusetts [RomneyCare] example a great opportunity for the rest of the country?

PERRY: It was a great opportunity for us as a people to see what will not work, and that is an individual mandate in this country.

Q: [to Romney]: You've said some things about the Massachusetts law worked; other things didn't work as well. On the individual mandate, the government saying that people have to buy health insurance--was that one of the things that worked in Massachusetts?

ROMNEY: One thing I'd do on day one if I'm elected president is direct my secretary of health and human services to put out an executive order granting a waiver from Obamacare to all 50 states. It is bad law, it will not work, and I'll get that done on day one. Now, what we faced in our state is different than what other states face. In our state, our plan covered 8% of the people, the uninsured. One thing I know, and that is that what Obama put in place is not going to work. It's massively expensive.

Source: 2011 GOP debate in Simi Valley CA at the Reagan Library , Sep 7, 2011

Wipe out ObamaCare; block grant healthcare back to states

Q: [to Romney]: Did the individual mandate work in Massachusetts?

ROMNEY: Our plan covered 8% of the people, the uninsured. ObamaCare is taking over 100% of the people.

Q: [to Perry]: Massachusetts has nearly universal health insurance. It's first in the country. In Texas, about a quarter of the people don't have health insurance. That's 50th out of 50. It's pretty hard to defend dead last.

PERRY: Well, I'll tell you what the people in the state of Texas don't want: They don't want a health car plan like what Gov. Romney put in place in Massachusetts. What they would like to see is the federal government get out of their business. For instance, Medicaid needs to be block-granted back to the states so that innovation will come up with the best ways to deliver health care. I'll promise you, we'll deliver more health care to more people cheaper than what the federal government is mandating today with their strings attached, here's how you do it, one-size-fits-all effort out of Washington, D.C.

Source: 2011 GOP debate in Simi Valley CA at the Reagan Library , Sep 7, 2011

TX wants freedom for healthcare menus & co-pays; feds refuse

Q: Texas is 50th out of 50 in health insurance.

PERRY: If we can get the federal government out of our business in the states when it comes to health care, we'll come up with ways to deliver more health care to more people cheaper than what the federa government is mandating today. That's got to stop. And I'll promise you: On day one, as the president, that executive order will be signed and Obamacare will be wiped out as much as it can be.

Q: Why are so many people in Texas uninsured?

PERRY: We would not have that many people uninsured in Texas if you didn't have the federal government. We've had requests in for years to have that type of flexibility where we could have menus, where we could have co-pays, and the federal government refuses t give us that flexibility. We know for a fact that, given that freedom, the states can do a better job of delivering health care. And you'd see substantially more people not just in Texas, but all across the country have access to better health care.

Source: 2011 GOP debate in Simi Valley CA at the Reagan Library , Sep 7, 2011

HillaryCare did not address agricultural needs

PAUL: The governor of Texas criticized the governor of Massachusetts for Romneycare, but he wrote a really fancy letter supporting Hillarycare. So we probably ought to ask him about that.

PERRY: I wrote a letter to Hillary and we were hoping that she would be able to come up with something that would not leave out the agriculture men and women--because I was the agriculture commissioner at that particular point in time. We had no idea it was going to be the monstrosity that's known as Hillarycare.

Source: 2011 GOP debate in Simi Valley CA at the Reagan Library , Sep 7, 2011

I hate cancer; inoculate girls against HPV

Q: [to Paul]: Your campaign put out a statement accusing Gov. Perry of trying to forcibly vaccinate 12-year-old girls against sexually transmitted diseases?

PAUL: Forcing 12-year-old girls to take an inoculation to prevent STDs, this is not good medicine & it's not good social policy.

PERRY: There was an opt-out in that executive order. I hate cancer. We passed a $3 billion cancer initiative to find, over the next 10 years, cures to cancers. Cervical cancer is caused by HPV [human papiloma virus]. We wanted to bring that to the attention of these thousands of young people in our state. We allowed for an opt-out. I don't know what's more strong for parental rights than having that opt-out. There's a long list of diseases that cost our state and cost our country. It was on that list. Now, did we handle it right? Should we have talked to the legislature first before we did it? Probably so. But at the end of the day, I will always err on the side of saving lives.

Source: 2011 GOP debate in Simi Valley CA at the Reagan Library , Sep 7, 2011

FactCheck: Yes, Perry sought mandatory HPV immunizations

Michele Bachmann said about Perry's HPV program, "It's wrong for government, whether it's state or federal government, to impose on parents what they must do to inoculate their children."

THE FACTS: She was correct that Perry supported mandatory immunization of girls to reduce future risks of cervical cancer, although the measure was blocked by Texas lawmakers and parents would have had some ability to file a conscientious objection to the requirement. Perry signed an executive order in 2007 directing his state health department to make the human papillomavirus vaccine available to "mandate the age-appropriate vaccination of all female children" before they enter sixth grade. Texas would have been the first state to require the immunizations.

Source: AP FactCheck on 2011 GOP debate in Simi Valley CA , Sep 7, 2011

Require 6th graders to receive STD vaccination

One of the biggest objections Tea Party groups have with Perry was his decision to sign an executive order in 2007 requiring all sixth-graders in the state to get vaccinated against HPV, or human papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted disease. The Legislature passed a bill striking down Perry's order two months later.

"That's something that we the people need to decide for ourselves," a Tea Party spokesperson said.

Source: Alan Gomez in USA TODAY, "Tea Party" , Aug 8, 2011

ObamaCare is a trainwreck of a plan

Washington's obsession with the primacy of their ideas and their love affair with one-size-fits-all solutions is a direct contradiction of their constitutional roles. Speaking of overreach, did I mention ObamaCare?

I sincerely hope our principled senators, regardless of party, will toss out that trainwreck of a plan or its mandates will cripple our healthcare system and its price tag will bust our budget.

Our Medicaid population and accompanying financial burden are growing as we speak and, in 2014, ObamaCare will cause them to explode. Right now, this Washington-centric approach to healthcare has a whole lot of states on a collision course with bankruptcy.

Instead of oppressive mandates, we need solutions like block grants and the freedom to improve health care delivery with innovation, flexibility and local input. You and I believe, and at least two federal courts have confirmed that it's unconstitutional and wrong for the government to force someone to buy health insurance.

Source: Speech at 2011 Conservative Political Action Conference , Feb 11, 2011

Repeal ObamaCare; simple message to Washington: "Enough"

it's time to repeal ObamaCare, with its mandates that will cripple our healthcare system, and a price tag that will bust our budget. Our Medicaid population and accompanying financial burden are growing as we speak, and, in 2014, ObamaCare will cause them to explode. This Washington-centric healthcare plan puts many states on a collision course with bankruptcy.

Instead of oppressive mandates, we need solutions like block grants, and the freedom to improve health care delivery, with innovation, flexibility and local input from leaders like Senator Jane Nelson. We most definitely do not need Washington encroaching even further on our individual liberties. I hope you'll support Representative Creighton's legislation stating the simple truth-- upheld by at least two federal courts, that it's unconstitutional & wrong for the government to force someone to buy health insurance. In this and other areas of overreach, we must be united in sending one clear and simple message to Washington: "Enough.

Source: 2011 Texas State of the State Address , Feb 8, 2011

Total repeal and dismantling of ObamaCare

No issue is more critical for the defense of freedom and the American way of life than the preservation of our free-market health care system and the total repeal and dismantling of so-called Obamacare. It is an example of everything that is wrong with the modern administrative state.

Our ability as Americans to have access to the best health care in the world--and our right to make our own personal health care decisions--literally hangs in the balance as this administration and Democrats on the Hill consolidate power and insert the long tentacles of Washington into every hospital and doctor's office in America. Because the premise of Obamacare is that our health is not our responsibility but the public's.

At its core, Obamacare represents the closest this country has ever come to outright socialism.

Obamacare mandates that Americans must go out and buy government-approved health insurance. I defy anyone to show me the clause in the Constitution that gives Washington the authority to do this

Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p. 78-79 , Nov 15, 2010

The future of America depends on repealing ObamaCare

The so-called Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or what we often refer to as Obamacare, simply must be repealed. Period. If we are unwilling to repeal a 2,000-plus-page bill that its sponsors admitted to not having read, that will cost trillions of dollars, that is opposed by a majority of the nation, that unconstitutionally requires private citizens to buy private health insurance, and that spits in the face of any principles of limited government and federalism --then we should just give up. The future of American depends on reversing this law.

Now, some Republicans seem to be hung up on the notion that we must be "for" something and must indicate so by saying that we will "repeal and replace" the legislation. That is such inside-the-Beltway nonsense and only confuses the issues for voters.

Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p.175 , Nov 15, 2010

Medical liability reforms have reduced frivolous lawsuits

As we begin 2007, Texas is perched at the forefront of a new era of prosperity. The economy is growing and government revenues are on the rise. Our state surplus is larger than ever just four years removed from our largest shortfall ever.

Frivolous lawsuits are down, as are insurance rates for homeowners and doctors. Thanks to medical liability reforms, hospitals are once again able to recruit specialists whose expertise can mean the difference between life and death.

Source: Texas 2007 State of the State address , Feb 6, 2007

$50 million nursing initiative to address shortage of nurses

There is an industry shortage we must address because lives are at stake--and that is in our state's nursing profession. I am proposing a $50 million nursing initiative that addresses this shortage in two ways: first, it provides new incentives for recruiting more students and faculty; second, it allows aspiring nurses to become licensed through a pilot program at our hospitals.
Source: Texas 2007 State of the State address , Feb 6, 2007

Healthier Texas: $200M funding pool for uncompensated care

One of the greatest obstacles to individual prosperity is the rising cost of healthcare. Years of hard work and savings can be wiped out with the onset of one life-threatening illness.

Of the 5.5 million uninsured Texans, 2 million are adults with incomes below 200% of the federal poverty level. Most are working Texans whose jobs offer healthcare benefits they can't afford, or no benefits at all.

Today I am proposing a new initiative called "Healthier Texas" that will open the door to more affordable insurance options for two million working Texans. This initiative redirects hundreds of millions of federal dollars spent on uncompensated care for the uninsured to the creation of a funding pool to purchase insurance for working Texans below 200% of the federal poverty level. This solution recognizes the wisdom of expanding the insurance market without a government takeover of your healthcare and without adding one more Texan to the government rolls.

Source: Texas 2007 State of the State address , Feb 6, 2007

More focus on nursing home and in-home care

Source: Press Release, “State Budget” , Jan 16, 2001

No federal pre-emption of employee health plan regulation.

Perry adopted the National Governors Association position paper:

The Issue

In 1999, 42.6 million Americans did not have health insurance. All states have been fervently working to reduce the number of uninsured Americans, to make health insurance more affordable and secure, and to provide quality health care at a reasonable cost to the uninsured. However, the federal government has also expressed an interest in this issue. Any action taken at the federal level could have serious implications for traditional state authority to regulate the health insurance industry and protect consumers.

NGA’s Position

Although the Governors are extremely sensitive to the concerns of large multi-state employers, the fact remains that the complete federal preemption of state laws relating to employee health plans in the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) is the greatest single barrier to many state reform and patient protection initiatives.

The Governors support efforts designed to enable small employers to join together to participate more effectively in the health insurance market. In fact, Governors have taken the lead in facilitating the development of such partnerships and alliances. However, these partnerships must be carefully structured and regulated by state agencies in order to protect consumers and small businesses from fraud and abuse and underinsurance. NGA opposes attempts to expand federal authority under ERISA. The Governors have identified the prevention of such federal legislation in the 107th Congress as a top legislative priority.

States have the primary responsibility for health insurance regulation. Across the nation, Governors are working to protect consumers and patients and to properly regulate the complicated health insurance industry.

Source: National Governors Association "Issues / Positions" 01-NGA13 on Oct 5, 2001

More federal funding for rural health services.

Perry signed the Western Governors' Association resolution:

  1. Western Governors want rural areas to have an adequate and able workforce to deliver needed health care services. The governors call on the federal government to provide necessary funding for programs such as the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) that have a state-based component, and the Health Professions programs that help health professionals serve in rural and frontier areas.
  2. Western Governors believe that rural health care providers should be paid fairly by Medicare in order to ensure access to health care for rural citizens. The governors encourage the federal government to take further steps to ensure equity in Medicare reimbursement for urban and rural areas.
  3. Alaska, Hawaii, America Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam face extraordinary geographic barriers in providing healthcare services and they should be designated for special consideration and adequate funding to overcome their frontier barriers.
  4. Federal programs like the Rural Health Outreach Grants and the Rural Hospital Flexibility program need to continue to provide funds to states and communities to experiment with new programs, integration of services and coalition building to develop new types of providers, facilities, and services.
  5. Western Governors believe in strengthening the existing health care system. Support for home health agencies, rural health clinics, public health nursing and critical access hospitals are partial solutions.
  6. Western Governors support the elimination of barriers to the use of telemedicine as outlined in the WGA’s 1998 report. In particular, we request that the federal efforts to increase reimbursement for telemedicine consultations, to protect the privacy of patient-identifiable medical information and to support rural health provider telecommunication costs with universal service funds continue.
Source: WGA Policy Resolution 01 - 06: Rural Health Improvements 01-WGA06 on Aug 14, 2001

Opposes government-run healthcare.

Perry opposes the CC survey question on government-run healthcare

The Christian Coalition voter guide [is] one of the most powerful tools Christians have ever had to impact our society during elections. This simple tool has helped educate tens of millions of citizens across this nation as to where candidates for public office stand on key faith and family issues.

The CC survey summarizes candidate stances on the following topic: "Federal government run health care system"

Source: Christian Coalition Survey 10-CC-q5 on Aug 11, 2010

Loosen "one-size-fits-all" approach to Medicaid.

Perry signed Letter to Pres. Obama from 32 Governors

As Governors, we are writing to you regarding the excessive constraints placed on us by healthcare-related federal mandates. One of our biggest concerns continues to be the Maintenance of Effort (MOE) provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which prevent states from managing their Medicaid programs for their unique Medicaid populations. We ask for your immediate action to remove these MOE requirements so that states are once again granted the flexibility to control their program costs and make necessary budget decisions.

Every Governor, Republican and Democrat, will face unprecedented budget challenges in the coming months. Efforts to regulate state operations impose greater uncertainty on our budgets for oncoming years and create a perfect storm when coupled with the current state of the economy.

Health and education are the primary cost drivers for most state budgets. Medicaid enrollment is up. Revenues are down. States are unable to afford the current Medicaid program, yet our hands are tied by the MOE requirements. The effect of the federal requirements is unconscionable; the federal requirements force Governors to cut other critical state programs, such as education, in order to fund a "one-size-fits-all" approach to Medicaid. Again, we ask you to lift the MOE requirements so that states may make difficult budget decisions in ways that reflect the needs of their residents.

Source: Letter to Obama from 32 Governors 110107-Gov on Jan 7, 2011

Other candidates on Health Care: Rick Perry on other issues:
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Page last updated: Feb 23, 2012