Romney Flip-Flops Aimlessly Over Pre-Existing Conditions

What is the point of doing Sunay interviews if you say one thing on Sunday Morning, and then take it all back on Sunday afternoon?

It's all about information, Mr. Romney, and you are confusing the voters! Plus you are living up to your reputation as King of the Etch-A-Sketch! This must be some new plan from Eric Fehrnstrom, no doubt.

On the NBC Meet the Press website, under the video of David Gregory interviewing Mitt Romney, the title reads: "Romney clarifies policy stances." Ummm . . . not so much. This is not a "forced error" because even though Gregory asked him about healthcare, his question was vague and Mitt was the one who specifically mentioned pre-existing conditions without a prompt.

From the NBC Transcript

GREGORY: Well, let me ask you about a couple of specific areas. On healthcare, you say that you would rescind the president’s healthcare plan on day one. Does that mean that you’re prepared to say to Americans, young adults and those with pre-existing conditions, that they would no longer be guaranteed healthcare?

MR. ROMNEY: Well, of course not. I say we're going to replace Obamacare. And I'm replacing it with my own plan. And, you know, even in Massachusetts where I was governor, our plan there deals with pre-existing conditions and with young people. Everybody…

GREGORY: So you'd keep that part of the federal plan?

MR. ROMNEY: Well, I'm not getting rid of all of healthcare reform. Of course, there are a number of things that I like in healthcare reform that I'm going to put in place. One is to make sure that those with pre-existing conditions can get coverage. Two is to assure that the marketplace allows for individuals to have policies that cover their-- their family up to whatever age they might like. I also want individuals to be able to buy insurance, health insurance, on their own as opposed to only being able to get it on a tax advantage basis through their company.

Unfortunately, just a few hours later an "aide" of Romney's clarified the clarification for the National Review, then had to clarify that! Whew - Gov. Romney sure is high maintenance!

In reference to how Romney would deal with those with young adults who want to remain on their parents’ plans, a Romney aide responded that there had been no change in Romney’s position and that “in a competitive environment, the marketplace will make available plans that include coverage for what there is demand for. He was not proposing a federal mandate to require insurance plans to offer those particular features.”

UPDATE: In reference to pre-existing conditions, a Romney aide responds, “Governor Romney will ensure that discrimination against individuals with pre-existing conditions who maintain continuous coverage is prohibited,” and refers me to these remarks Romney made in Florida in June:

I also want to make sure that people can’t get dropped if they have a preexisting condition. . . . So let’s say someone has been continuously insured and they develop a serious condition and let’s say they lose their job or they change jobs, they move and they go to a new place. I don’t want them to be denied insurance because they’ve got some preexisting condition. So we’re going to have to make sure that the law we replace Obamacare with assures that people who have a preexisting condition, who’ve been insured in the past are able to get insurance in the future so they don’t have to worry about that condition keeping them from getting the kind of health care they deserve.

Okay ~ so just forget David Gregory's over-hyped interview. Nothing was "clarified" after all, and Romney's "stance" is what it was back in June. No need for new interviews whatsoever.

They tried to get it right again, as reported by Buzzfeed:

After Mitt Romney said on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday that there were certain parts of Obamacare that he liked, a campaign aide confirmed to BuzzFeed that one of the elements that a Romney health care overhaul would be a guarantee that people with pre-existing conditions can't get kicked off their health insurance plans.

"Gov. Romney will ensure that discrimination against individuals with pre-existing conditions who maintain continuous coverage is prohibited," the aide said. But the 2010 health care law goes much further: It bars discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions who are applying for health care. The new statement appears to amend a report in National Review Online earlier Sunday, which quoted an anonymous aide saying Romney would allow "the martketplace" to sort out coverage for such people.

Confused now? Even reading all these articles doesn't clarify anything. How is this type of explanation going to work in the debates? How many aides does Romney need to explain a simple position on Health Care? Geesh!