Mitt Romney Is A Fan Of Socialized Medicine… In Israel, Anyway

Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney might be counting the days until he can call himself President and repeal controversial ObamaCare as his first act as POTUS, but comments today in Israel show Mitt isn’t terribly sour on socialized healthcare. He’s actually quite fond of the system Israel’s got going for itself.

Israel’s healthcare system has been socialized (a la ObamaCare, Canada) since its founding in 1948, reports Newser, and during Mitt’s visit to the country, he praised America’s most steadfast ally for their ability to provide affordable, quality healthcare to their citizens.

“When our health care costs are completely out of control. Do you realize what health care spending is as a percentage of the GDP in Israel? 8 percent. You spend 8 percent of GDP on health care. And you’re a pretty healthy nation,” Romney told donors at a fundraiser at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, comparing Israel’s healthcare system to whatever America has going for it at the moment. “We spend 18 percent of our GDP on health care. 10 percentage points more. That gap, that 10 percent cost, let me compare that with the size of our military. Our military budget is 4 percent. Our gap with Israel is 10 points of GDP. We have to find ways, not just to provide health care to more people, but to find ways to finally manage our health care costs.”

Romney explains time and time again that he does not support ObamaCare, despite the fact that the nationwide health insurance program was modeled on his Massachusetts reforms. But of course, the Mass. Healthcare worked perfectly fine for that state, so Romney’s true axe-to-grind is with a blanket-plan for national application. These comments on Israel’s healthcare system could increase the size of that looming shadow over Romney’s shoulders in the upcoming election, adding more weight to the healthcare cross he already bears.

Incidentally, Israel enjoys one of the highest life-expectancy rates in the world. Buzzfeed has the details on exactly what makes their system work.

Did Mitt Romney just make things harder on himself with his health care comments in Israel? Did he prove a point… for Obama? Sound off!