Former Obama adviser: Romney healthcare plan ‘most radical and divisive’ in history

Mitt Romney’s healthcare platform is one of the most regressive proposals in U.S. history, said David Cutler, a prominent healthcare economist and a top adviser to President Obama’s 2008 campaign.

In a harshly worded blog post on the Journal of the American Medical Association website, Cutler criticized what he said is the “negativity” of Romney’s platform.

“Romney’s plan will heal neither divisions nor sick Americans,” Cutler wrote. “Indeed, Romney’s health care ideas are the most radical and divisive of any candidate ever to run for President.”

Romney wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act, convert Medicaid into a block grant to the states and partially convert Medicare into a private system. Together, those policies would cause at least 45 million people to lose their coverage, Cutler said.

“Never before in history has a candidate run for President with the idea that too many people have insurance coverage,” he wrote.

Romney’s plans are largely in line with House Republicans’ budget proposal, which also calls for repealing President Obama’s healthcare law and turning Medicaid into a block-grant program. Both would also convert some federal Medicare spending into subsidies for private insurance, while leaving the existing program intact as an option.

Romney met resistance from some conservatives during the Republican primary because the healthcare law he signed as Massachusetts governor is highly similar to Obama’s version. They both rely on a system of subsidized private insurance and both include a mandate requiring individuals to buy coverage.

Despite the similarities, Romney has consistently pledged to repeal the Affordable Care Act, saying the policies that worked in his state shouldn’t have been extrapolated into a national plan.

---