On State of the Union yesterday, John King pit Tim Pawlenty against Mitt Romney.
[Video of Pawlenty: "If you don't also contain costs and preserve quality, you're in big trouble. And the federal proposal is largely modeled so far after what happened in Massachusetts. They succeeded in extending access, but the cost of that program is now double, triple and some would say soon quadruple what they estimated -- that would be a bad development for those of us who are concerned about the uncontrollable rise in health care costs."]
KING: Does Governor Pawlenty have your plan right there?
ROMNEY: No, I'm afraid facts are stubborn things, and the Massachusetts Taxpayer's Foundation has taken a good look at the Massachusetts plan some three or four years after it was passed, and it is well within the original forecast. It's a little over 1% of the state budget, and in fact, virtually all of our citizens are insured, and there's an important difference between what we did, and what President Barack Obama is proposing.
Number 1, we solved our level at the state level. Let the states deal with the problem of uninsured individuals, and number 2, we have no public option.
[Hat tip: Mitt Romney Central]
