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News & ArtsThursday, October 11, 2012
2012 Mitt Romney Says People in America Don't Die Because They Don't Have Health Insurance
Posted by Paul Constant on Thu, Oct 11, 2012 at 11:19 AM
This is such a disingenuous, dick move. Mitt Romney isn't an idiot. He studied health care when he was governor of Massachusetts, and he knows that what he just told the Columbus Dispatch isn't true:
Romney, in a meeting with The Dispatch’s editorial board, said those who currently don’t carry insurance would have a chance to make a “choice” to be covered without fear of being denied. But he didn’t specify how long Americans would have to make that choice, or what would happen to those who chose not to be covered and later fell sick.
Romney minimized the harm for Americans left without health insurance.
“We don’t have a setting across this country where if you don’t have insurance, we just say to you, ‘Tough luck, you’re going to die when you have your heart attack'," he said as he offered more hints as to what he would put in place of “Obamacare,” which he has pledged to repeal.
“No, you go to the hospital, you get treated, you get care, and it’s paid for, either by charity, the government or by the hospital. We don’t have people that become ill, who die in their apartment because they don’t have insurance.”
People get bankrupted all the time because they don't have insurance and they get into an accident, or an unexpected illness strikes. Some people fear bankruptcy so much that they ignore symptoms and resist getting treatment until it's too late. But worst of all, Mitt Romney knows this, and instead he pretends that the United States is this amazing, generous place that basically already provides free health care already. If you needed more evidence that Romney is a total asshole who will say whatever he needs to say in order to win the presidency, this is the smoking gun.
1
No, no, let's go with Mitt's whole generosity and humanity thing that means somebody will pay when you show up at the hospital gravely ill.
The question becomes, what's wrong with a little thrift and forethought in our generosity? Because we're paying ten times too much by providing primary care at the emergency room.
Can we think of nothing better to do with all that money we're wasting?
The question becomes, what's wrong with a little thrift and forethought in our generosity? Because we're paying ten times too much by providing primary care at the emergency room.
Can we think of nothing better to do with all that money we're wasting?
2
One thing to consider: do you think Romney feels he is being immoral because of his constant lying, or do you imagine he figures it is ok because he is "lying for the lord?"
That is to say, we all know that lying is wrong, but in this case, Romney may honestly think he is doing nothing wrong by continously lying to get what he wants. Which would be weird and very scary.
That is to say, we all know that lying is wrong, but in this case, Romney may honestly think he is doing nothing wrong by continously lying to get what he wants. Which would be weird and very scary.
3
I've had two people in my family die because they didn't have insurance: one who had a treatable cancer, but couldn't afford that treatment; and one whose untreated stomach issues led to esophageal cancer.
Yeah, so fuck you Romney.
Yeah, so fuck you Romney.
4
My friend W... died because she couldn't buy health insurance.
Hey, Mitt: they don't offer chemo in the emergency room!
The doctors agreed, if W had received the chemo in time, she would have lived.
By the time W was destitute enough for Medical, the ovarian cancer was too advanced to treat successfully.
Although the odds were against her, W still suffered through four bouts of chemo in the vain hope that she'd be able to help her daughter through to graduating high school.
So the taxpayers had to pay out for four chemos -- instead of one -- and Social Security payments for a 14 year old orphaned by her single mother's death.
All because the Mitt Romneys of this country are selfish, lying pricks.
Hey, Mitt: they don't offer chemo in the emergency room!
The doctors agreed, if W had received the chemo in time, she would have lived.
By the time W was destitute enough for Medical, the ovarian cancer was too advanced to treat successfully.
Although the odds were against her, W still suffered through four bouts of chemo in the vain hope that she'd be able to help her daughter through to graduating high school.
So the taxpayers had to pay out for four chemos -- instead of one -- and Social Security payments for a 14 year old orphaned by her single mother's death.
All because the Mitt Romneys of this country are selfish, lying pricks.
5
People WITH health insurance go bankrupt; health care costs are the number one cause of bankruptcy in the US.
Lots of people "choose" not to have health insurance because they have pre-existing conditions that made them uninsurable.
Lots of people "choose" not to have health insurance because they have pre-existing conditions that made them uninsurable.
6
Republicans have no interest in universal coverage. What they want is that the federal govt. not be involved in health care. That's all. Done. They don't think people dying without insurance is a problem.
7
This strikes me as a pretty big blunder. Now Obama just has to run ads with this quote, along with heart-wrenching stories of people who died due to lack of health insurance.
8
Um...it isn't always paid for. When I didn't have insurance and had a serious staph infection, I waited until I couldn't wait anymore to go to the hospital because I made $19,000 a year, which was $200 a year too much to qualify for any kind of assistance or charity care. I had a fever over 104 when I finally went to the ER (because I knew they would treat me and I'd figure out how to pay later). I got a bill for over $1,000 from the hospital and $500 from the surgeon who had to drain the grapefruit-sized cyst on my back because it was too big for the ER doc to handle. I had IV antibiotics at the hospital (it was an MRSA infection), and the ER doc told me that had I waited any longer, I could have had serious complications.
I can't believe he thinks that. I guess that's what happens when you live in a super rich bubble.
I can't believe he thinks that. I guess that's what happens when you live in a super rich bubble.
9
This is one of the reasons health care costs are skyrocketing in this country -- emergency care for the uninsured vs primary care for the insured. So not only is he lying about the fact that Americans DO die from lack of health insurance, he's being disingenuous that this is a fiscally conservative "solution."
10
There is a large swath of the American public who will believe this crap. Why, because they simply don't understand how health care is paid for.
They understand that technologically we have the best health care tools in the world. That is objectively true and they can walk up to an MRI machine and knock on it to prove it to themselves. However they can't do the same when it comes to discussing how that care is paid for, how those tools are deployed.
Lay on top of that the fact that they have been told all their lives that "socialism" is not just bad it is evil and it is easy to understand why this pitch will work on them. They simply can't make the connection between, "“No, you go to the hospital, you get treated, you get care, and it’s paid for," and the fact that they/we are paying for it at the highest possible cost.
They understand that technologically we have the best health care tools in the world. That is objectively true and they can walk up to an MRI machine and knock on it to prove it to themselves. However they can't do the same when it comes to discussing how that care is paid for, how those tools are deployed.
Lay on top of that the fact that they have been told all their lives that "socialism" is not just bad it is evil and it is easy to understand why this pitch will work on them. They simply can't make the connection between, "“No, you go to the hospital, you get treated, you get care, and it’s paid for," and the fact that they/we are paying for it at the highest possible cost.
11
Maybe he can have Ann tell him which hospital emergency rooms MS patients can go to for treatment.
12
My husband doesn't have employer-provided health insurance and has difficulty getting it privately. He has it now, but we are never certain how long it will last. I can't carry him on *my* employer-provided health insurance because our state does not recognize same-sex marriage. So I'm happy either if Obamacare is allowed to phase in by 2014 without Republican interference, or if DOMA is overturned and marriage equality becomes law nationwide. If Obama is reelected, at least one of those things will happen, and possibly both. If Romney is elected, we're screwed.
13
Interesting that the usual Republican apologists haven't posted here. Even unregistered hasn't appeared. Because there's no way to spin this. Romney is blatantly lying. Or he's the biggest idiot this side of Dumb & Dumber.
14
Yeah, Mitt should talk to my friend whose 32-year-old partner died in their home from pneumonia because he was too afraid of medical bankruptcy to go to an actual doctor after the drugs he received at the minute clinic didn't work. This happened about a month before Obamacare was passed.
16
Conservatives and tea partiers love that shit though. They want it done through their charity. Their choice. They don't want to be "forced" to pay for anyone else.
It doesn't matter to them that they already are being forced to pay for others (and at a much higher cost too), because it's all behind closed doors. If they don't think about it, they'll be able to sleep better at night. But if it's a law, written down, where they can't avoid it, they're forced to confront it.
It's stupid of course. They all think they're independent Danial Boones, able to live all by themselves with no help from anyone, and they hate it when their fragile little illusion is shattered in front of them.
It doesn't matter to them that they already are being forced to pay for others (and at a much higher cost too), because it's all behind closed doors. If they don't think about it, they'll be able to sleep better at night. But if it's a law, written down, where they can't avoid it, they're forced to confront it.
It's stupid of course. They all think they're independent Danial Boones, able to live all by themselves with no help from anyone, and they hate it when their fragile little illusion is shattered in front of them.
18
What an ass. Yes, a heart attack is a situation in which if you go to the emergency room, they will treat you, because their job is to make you stable if you are not. But they do not provide non-immediate-emergency surgery or treatment for things like cancer to people who can't pay.
I knew someone without insurance who broke her arm in such away that it required surgery to set. The emergency room basically gave her a sling and some pain meds and sent her home, and then she had to call around by herself to find a surgeon who would do it for her at reduced or no cost. If she hadn't found one she would have been SOL.
I knew someone without insurance who broke her arm in such away that it required surgery to set. The emergency room basically gave her a sling and some pain meds and sent her home, and then she had to call around by herself to find a surgeon who would do it for her at reduced or no cost. If she hadn't found one she would have been SOL.
19
@10,
But that's still not true. It's not just a matter that they don't understand how health care is paid for and that they don't understand that the ER is the most expensive way to administer care. If an uninsured patient goes to the ER for a potentially fatal ailment that requires continued treatment, that patient will die. Period.
The ER stabilizes patients and handles immediate situations. So, if you get taken to the ER for seizures and it turns out the seizures are caused by brain cancer, the ER doc will give you anti-seizure medication and send you on your way. Later, when the cancer grows enough to cause head-splitting headaches, you can go to the ER to get pain medication, but, make no mistake, without insurance, you will not get surgery, you will not get chemo or radiation, and you will be dead within six months.
That is what "free" health care at the ER looks like.
Also, if you're married, after your death, your spouse will be on the hook for the cost of the non-existent treatment you received at the ER.
"“No, you go to the hospital, you get treated, you get care, and it’s paid for," and the fact that they/we are paying for it at the highest possible cost.
But that's still not true. It's not just a matter that they don't understand how health care is paid for and that they don't understand that the ER is the most expensive way to administer care. If an uninsured patient goes to the ER for a potentially fatal ailment that requires continued treatment, that patient will die. Period.
The ER stabilizes patients and handles immediate situations. So, if you get taken to the ER for seizures and it turns out the seizures are caused by brain cancer, the ER doc will give you anti-seizure medication and send you on your way. Later, when the cancer grows enough to cause head-splitting headaches, you can go to the ER to get pain medication, but, make no mistake, without insurance, you will not get surgery, you will not get chemo or radiation, and you will be dead within six months.
That is what "free" health care at the ER looks like.
Also, if you're married, after your death, your spouse will be on the hook for the cost of the non-existent treatment you received at the ER.
20
@15,
If you're insured, you'll go bankrupt. If you're uninsured, you'll die. That is our health care system.
If you're insured, you'll go bankrupt. If you're uninsured, you'll die. That is our health care system.
21
So, in essence, poor people should not have such nice things.
If you're poor and you have insurance, you'll lose the nice things that you have earned over the years when you go bankrupt.
If you're poor and you do NOT have insurance, you'll lose the nice things that you have earned over the years when you go bankrupt and then you'll die.
How did Romney phrase it?
"I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."
If you're poor and you have insurance, you'll lose the nice things that you have earned over the years when you go bankrupt.
If you're poor and you do NOT have insurance, you'll lose the nice things that you have earned over the years when you go bankrupt and then you'll die.
How did Romney phrase it?
"I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."
22
powerful & moving video from OFA:
American Heroes: Ryan Case
this is what matters and what is at stake.
American Heroes: Ryan Case
this is what matters and what is at stake.
23
@12 "I can't carry him on *my* employer-provided health insurance because our state does not recognize same-sex marriage."
Your company doesn't have to cover your spouse because your state does not mandate it, but there are many examples of companies that have offered to extend such benefits way in front of laws and societal expectations.
You may not be in a situation to risk it, but you might consider asking your company to extend your benefits, or understand that you may have to look for a company that values you enough to take care of your family.
Your company doesn't have to cover your spouse because your state does not mandate it, but there are many examples of companies that have offered to extend such benefits way in front of laws and societal expectations.
You may not be in a situation to risk it, but you might consider asking your company to extend your benefits, or understand that you may have to look for a company that values you enough to take care of your family.
24
So he's okay with the government paying for poor people's ER care, but not for health insurance? He's not pro-responsibility here, he's just fucking against poor people.
25
@24,
He's anti-Obama. Not only is Obamacare modeled after Romneycare, the very idea of it was concocted by Republicans nearly 20 years ago.
The fact is that Democrats got shit done, and the Republicans hate them for it.
He's anti-Obama. Not only is Obamacare modeled after Romneycare, the very idea of it was concocted by Republicans nearly 20 years ago.
The fact is that Democrats got shit done, and the Republicans hate them for it.
26
Hospitals are only required to stabilize and save lives for immediately threatening conditions, not to provide care for severely disabling conditions or to provide ongoing care. So, fall into a diabetic coma and the hospital will stabilize you. But have diabetes and good luck getting an ongoing insulin supply or counseling if you can't afford it.
Personally, I had an unusual eye problem. It calls for surgery. I had to delay the surgery for a few years, because I couldn't afford it (I had lost all my savings due to a previous medical problem and surgery for the other eye). It turned out that delaying it left me permanently legally blind. But hey, then I qualified for both disability and medicare and could get care, but the damage is done.
This is an incredibly stupid system. Immediate treatment and preventative care makes sense. But I'm lucky I didn't have an ongoing chronic illness that required expensive treatment. I know people who have difficulty affording the drugs that deal with multiple sclerosis. Another thing that you don't get from ERs. The drugs tend to decrease the progression of the disease and the risks of severe attacks. Get a severe attack and you can go to the ER, sure, but try to get the drugs to prevent it... Same with seizure medication and ongoing care. Have a seizure and you can go to the ER, but want drugs to not have seizures... well, I hope you're covered well.
Pretending ERs are real medical care is just dishonest. They have their place and are good, but yes, people die because they can't afford medical care. People become disabled or out of work because they can't afford medical care. And it happens all the time.
Personally, I had an unusual eye problem. It calls for surgery. I had to delay the surgery for a few years, because I couldn't afford it (I had lost all my savings due to a previous medical problem and surgery for the other eye). It turned out that delaying it left me permanently legally blind. But hey, then I qualified for both disability and medicare and could get care, but the damage is done.
This is an incredibly stupid system. Immediate treatment and preventative care makes sense. But I'm lucky I didn't have an ongoing chronic illness that required expensive treatment. I know people who have difficulty affording the drugs that deal with multiple sclerosis. Another thing that you don't get from ERs. The drugs tend to decrease the progression of the disease and the risks of severe attacks. Get a severe attack and you can go to the ER, sure, but try to get the drugs to prevent it... Same with seizure medication and ongoing care. Have a seizure and you can go to the ER, but want drugs to not have seizures... well, I hope you're covered well.
Pretending ERs are real medical care is just dishonest. They have their place and are good, but yes, people die because they can't afford medical care. People become disabled or out of work because they can't afford medical care. And it happens all the time.
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