Mitt Romney is running for president. And he’s also running away from the universal health-care coverage he brought to Massachusetts when he served as governor, since that plan bears a striking resemblance to the none-too-popular-on-the-right health-care overhaul law passed last year. The Massachusetts law includes an individual mandate to purchase coverage, the element of the national plan that has become the chief target for those seeking to overturn the law. As the WSJ reports , Romney will give a speech today that he hopes will address critics of his role in the Massachusetts plan … without totally disavowing the whole thing. (After all, the program means that nearly everyone in the state now has insurance, and is popular with residents though it hasn’t done much to curb costs and has been associated with longer wait times for primary care.) In his speech, Romney will support the notion of

repealing the health-overhaul law and replacing it with something including these five elements: Block grants for states would replace the current federal share of Medicaid, giving states more flexibility to design the plans. People would be able to use “current tax credits that help pay for employer-provided health insurance or a new tax credit to help purchase their own plan,” the WSJ says. The ban on rejecting insurance applicants because of pre-existing conditions would continue, but only if people previously had coverage for some period of time. People could buy insurance across state lines and small businesses could form groups to purchase coverage. Medical-malpractice awards would be capped. Consumer-directed health care, including health-savings accounts, would be encouraged. What do you think — will his speech quiet his critics? Photo: Getty Images

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Reader Consult: Can Romney Run From the Mass. Health-Care Plan?