Rick Perry's Texas vs. Mitt Romney's Massachusetts: The Health Statistics AlmanacSo it looks like Rick Perry, the Governor of Texas, is running for President. There’s good reason to believe that his entry will lead to a two-man race for the GOP presidential nomination between Perry and former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts. But while Mitt Romney’s record on health care has been the subject of countless academic papers and blog posts, Rick Perry’s has not.
In an effort to illuminate this contest, I’ve gone through a wealth of statistical data compiled by the U.S. Census, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Commonwealth Fund. I wanted to know: how does health care in Texas compare to that of Massachusetts? Does the data help us assess the health care records of Perry and Romney as governors of their states, and what they could achieve on the national level?
Come back and visit this page from time to time, as I will try to update it as I come across useful stats.
Who wins?If you’re the type who likes to read the end of a book first, you might ask, “Okay, Avik, what’s the bottom line?” The answer will, in part, depend on what you think is important in health care policy. If you’re most concerned about runaway government spending, Perry is the clear winner. If the rising cost of health insurance is your primary worry, Perry wins there too. On the other hand, if universal coverage is your bailiwick, Romney comes out far ahead.
If that sounds like the basic ideological divide in health policy, you’re not far from the truth. As you read through this article, you’ll see what I mean.
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