Out of Touch II: Seriously

In discussing healthcare, Mitt Romney said this:

“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.”

What country is Romney living in, because I want to live there!

According to a Harvard study, EVERY YEAR 45,000 Americans die because of a lack of insurance.  They can't afford basic care to take care of serious illnesses like heart disease and diabetes.  They don't get regular checkups or can't afford to miss work even when something serious is happening with their health.  

I have people in my family (Hi Mom!) with serious health issues who have foregone care because of cost.  Even under Medicare my Mom has serious problems with the deductibles.  Of course, Mitt probably doesn't know anyone like that as all his friends can easily survive without insurance, so long as they take some "walking around money" to the hospital with them.

What's more, uninsured people waiting to get care until they have to go to the emergency room with serious problems is one of the primary causes of increased healthcare costs.  It's ridiculously inefficient for people to wait until an emergency room visit to try to deal with something that would be much cheaper to treat with regular doctor visits.  But if you can't afford the regular doctor visits, you don't have much choice.

The thing is, Mitt Romney must know this.  He made some of these arguments in support of Massachusetts' healthcare law that has resulted in 95%+ of its citizens having affordable insurance.  But Mitt's running as a Republican so he has to pretend that Obamacare is an abomination, even though he's its step-father.