GOP Candidates Spar Over Health Issues in Calif. Debate
During a debate at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, Calif., on Wednesday night, candidates for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination briefly discussed health care issues. They touched on former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's statewide health care overhaul and the high uninsurance rate in Gov. Rick Perry's state of Texas. Perry called the Massachusetts overhaul a failure and an example of how an individual insurance mandate does not work. He also blamed the federal government for Texas' high uninsurance rate, saying federal officials did not provide the state with enough flexibility in designing its own health care solutions.
- "GOP Rivals Gang Up on Romney Over Health Care Law" (AP/Sacramento Bee, 9/7).
- "Perry: Blame Feds for Lack of Health Coverage in Texas" (Baker, "Healthwatch," The Hill, 9/7).
- "Romney and Perry Clash, Drawing Lines in G.O.P. Sand" (Zeleny/Nagourney, New York Times, 9/7).