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Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Back Mitt Romney's Health Plan
In what could be a blow to Massachusetts Republican Gov. Mitt Romney's presidential aspirations, two Democratic White House hopefuls have offered preliminary endorsements for his health care plan, which would force small businesses to offer health insurance to all uninsured employees. "To come up with a bipartisan plan in this polarized environment is commendable," Sen. Hillary Clinton told the Associated Press on Thursday. The Romney plan, which has already been passed by the Massachusetts legislature and is waiting the governor's signature, mimics in some ways Mrs. Clinton's own Hillarycare proposal, which crashed and burned in 1994 with disastrous political consequences. In another sign of trouble for Romney, Hillary isn't the only Democratic presidential aspirant singing his plan's praises.
Story Continues Below "I like this health care bill that's passed," Sen. John Kerry told radio host Don Imus Friday morning. "I think it's terrific. Massachusetts has set a good course on that and I give everybody involved in that credit." The Romney plan would tax individuals who don't buy their own health insurance. And businesses who didn't provide health insurance for their employees would be penalized $300 per year. A similar proposal in New York carries a much stiffer penalty for businesses - $300 every five weeks. Romney says he favors removing the business tax. However, when Mrs. Clinton was asked about cutting back the penalty, she told the AP: "That would unravel the plan." The comments echoed Hillary's defense of her own 1994 proposal. When small businessmen complained that it would bust their budgets, the then-first lady famously declared: "I can't be responsible for every undercapitalized business out there." The Romney plan is also winning praise from another strange bedfellow, Clinton strategist James Carville, who likes the proposal's bipartisan pedigree. "It's a feel-good story, this Romney thing. Republican Governor. Democratic legislature," Carville told the AP. "Romney is an ascendant guy."
Editor's note:
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