Romney's Health Care Plan Leaves 45 Million More People Uninsured Than Obamacare

Mitt Romney's health care plan would cost families more and cover fewer people than Obamacare, according to a pair of recent studies.

The health plan proposed by Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney would leave 72 million Americans uninsured by 2022, compared to just 27 million under President Obama's Affordable Care Act, according to a recent study from the Commonwealth Fund -- a traditionally pro-"Obamacare" foundation.

Romney’s health care plan is estimated to cost families nearly double what Obamacare would cost them, including both comparative insurance premium payments as well as out-of-pocket expenses, according to a different recent study by Families USA, another typically pro-Obamacare nonprofit advocacy organization. That study similarly found that Romney’s plan provides insurance for fewer Americans.

Both studies are based on an incomplete picture of Romney's plan, since he has yet to disclose specifics. Still, the Commonwealth report estimates that the number of uninsured people would rise in each age bracket because Romney’s plan would turn Medicaid into block grants. Since Obamacare calls for an expansion of Medicaid, by contrast, the gap between the number of people covered by the respective plans becomes substantial. By 2016, Obamacare would already cover 41.9 million more people than under Romney’s plan, the Families USA study finds.

Romney’s camp disagrees.

The Commonwealth Fund study depicts “a fantasy world where Obamacare has been a success,” Romney spokesman Ryan Williams said in an email to Politico. “Under ObamaCare, Americans have seen their insurance premiums increase, small businesses are facing massive tax increases, and seniors will have reduced access to Medicare services.”

Still, part of Romney’s plan to reduce the costs of health care requires consumers to pay for basic services, like check-ups, according to a Reuters analysis. Despite the supposed cost cutting measures, Romney’s health care plan would do little to slow rising medical costs, according to a report by Bloomberg Government.