Despite railing against the health care law, several of its Republican opponents are benefiting from it. This hypocrisy extends to states challenging the constitutionality of the law and even members of Congress who voted to repeal the measure.

On Tuesday, the Department of Health and Human Services released a list of 27 Accountable Care Organizations, groups that will serve Medicare beneficiaries under the law. Among them is the Accountable Care Coalition of Mount Kisco, featuring the Mount Kisco Medical Group. That organization’s CEO is Dr. Scott Hayworth, husband of Rep. Nan Hayworth (R-NY). Rep. Hayworth, for her part, worked at the clinic as a partner and received $56,800 in contributions from the group in this election cycle and $78,550 in 2010 — more money that she accepted from any other organization or company.

But Rep. Hayworth, who was endorsed by Tea Party groups, has also spoken out against the law her company is now participating in, describing it as a “disaster” :

– “The government would be making decisions about what type of care is given, what procedures can be performed, and the kind of medications prescribed. It would be a very profound change from the ideal to which we aspire.”(Newsmax, Mar. 28, 2011)

– “It will not achieve the goals that – the beneficial goals that we wanted it to have. It will add to the cost of care, it does not address the fundamental drivers of cost that are unique in this country, namely liability issues, and the fact that we like to have choice and competition, and if we ignore those things, we will raise the cost of care.” (Fox Business, Mar. 14, 2012)

– “This massive law that has its second anniversary has already resulted in skyrocketing health care premiums for folks across the country. Small businesses, in particular in a state like New York, are finding it very, very difficult to afford to insure themselves. It’s a disaster.” (TRN Central Health, Mar. 21, 2012)

We all honor the goals of the Affordable Care Act but this law increases spending, raises taxes, and destroys jobs. With this vote to repeal we are listening to the American people and fulfilling our promise. (Politics on the Hudson, Jan. 20, 2011)

Far from being disastrous, the measure may prove to be quite profitable for Hayworth, her husband, and largest campaign contributor.

(HT: Inside Health Policy)

-Zachary Bernstein

Ann Romney went on television this morning to champion a woman’s right to choose. Responding to Democratic strategist and CAP Action board member Hilary Rosen’s criticism that she “never worked a day in her life,” Mrs. Romney rebutted the attack and talked about her experience being a stay-at-home mom. Speaking to that point, she said, “we need to respect choices that women make.” Watch it:

Indeed, Ann Romney hit the nail on the head: We should respect the choices that women make when it comes to family planning. But those choices run the gamut — there’s the “choice” to stay home or work (though, that’s economically tough, and Ann Romney has probably never had to calculate the cost of daycare versus that of driving to work), take contraception to delay having a family until a woman is ready, and terminate a pregnancy that a woman cannot afford or handle.

Mrs. Romney and her husband have previously supported organizations that offer such choices: In 1994, during her husband’s bid for U.S. Senate, Mrs. Romney gave $150 to Planned Parenthood and her husband attended a pro-choice fundraiser.

But Romney’s positions have “evolved” to favor a conservative social agenda meant to endear him to the right wing. He now supports policies that limit women’s choices. Romney’s recent assaults on women’s health include “getting rid of” Planned Parenthood, supporting a personhood amendment, limiting contraception and restricting access to abortions.

Ann Romney’s message to women is clear: respect my choices, even if my husband may not respect yours.

Kaiser Family Foundation has put together this very helpful tool to track the federal funds distributed to the states under the Affordable Care Act. Click over to play with the map, but note that even the strongest opponents of health care reform have benefited from it:

– FLORIDA: $278 Million

– TEXAS: $742 Million

– NEW HAMPSHIRE: $50 Million

Look:

Six years ago today, Mitt Romney signed his health care reform bill into law, proclaiming during an elaborately staged signing ceremony at Boston’s Faneuil Hall, “Of course the bill isn’t 100 percent of what anyone in this room wanted.” “But the differences between us are relatively small.”

Romney thanked the Bush administration for approving federal authorizations to fund the law and praised the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) for his “essential” work in shaping and advancing the bill through the state legislature. “Special thanks as well to the Heritage Foundation,” Romney continued. “Two of its leading scholars are the ones who helped design and craft what we now call the Connector, which is the centerpiece of the insurance reform portion.” Once Heritage’s Dr. Robert Emmet Moffit took the stage, he praised the law for establishing a new “patient centered” and “consumer-based” market where everyone can find affordable coverage:

MOFFIT (HERITAGE FOUNDATION): We’ve been honored by your request…to participate in giving our best advise and our technical assistance in designing a new and different kind of health insurance market. A market that is patient-centered and consumer-based, which will ease access to affordable coverage for thousands of Bay State citizens. This is new. It’s a new market, where individuals and families will be able to own and control their health insurance and take it with them to from job to job… Nothing like it has ever been attempted anywhere else in the United States. So Massachusetts has raised the bar for every state in the union. And that’s the applause you’ve given to your public officials here today is going to echo far beyond the hallow halls of this historic place.

Watch it:

Since its enactment, health insurance coverage among nonelderly adults in Massachusetts increased to near universal levels, nonelderly adults were more likely to have a usual place to go when they were sick, the state has reported drops in the shares of adults reporting a hospital stay and using the emergency department and seen gains in the affordability of care. More businesses are now offering health insurance and almosts all children can now see a doctor when they need to.

In fact, a new report released yesterday found that “for the second year in a row, the Massachusetts Health Connector’s Commonwealth Care program will provide private health insurance to eligible residents at a lower cost than the previous year.” The state will “save the state approximately $91 million with no benefit reductions or member co-pay increases” as a result of “contract renegotiations with providers and referral management,” said Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority Executive Director Glen Shor. “Several of the insurance carriers achieved significant success in persuading provider organizations to serve Commonwealth Care members at a lower cost.”

According to a WBUR poll from February, 62 percent of Massachusetts residents support Romney’s law, while just 33 percent oppose it.