Mitt Romney unveils a new health care proposal today that completely abandons the plan he signed into law as governor of Massachusetts and has defended on the campaign trail. His new proposal is a vast improvement, focused on changing federal tax law in order to empower individuals to buy health insurance outside their employer, and incentives for states to deregulate their insurance industry. He is also expected to block grant both Medicaid and federal uncompensated care funds to encourage greater state innovation. There will be no provision for either an individual mandate or a managed-competition style “connector,” both central features of his Massachusetts plan.

Of course Romney runs the risk of this being seen as another flip-flop, but on health care it is much better to be John Kerry than Hillary Clinton.