Mitt Romney: ‘We Don’t Have People Who Die Because They Don’t Have Insurance'

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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.”

He pointed out that federal law requires hospitals to treat those without health insurance — although hospital officials frequently say that drives up health-care costs.

Romney’s interview took place after a town-hall meeting at Ariel Corp. in front of several hundred people, including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a fellow Republican. After visiting the Mount Vernon compressor manufacturer, Romney grabbed a bite at Bun’s Restaurant in Delaware and stopped by the Shelby County Fair in Sidney. About 9,000 people attended the latter event, according to the campaign.

During his 34-minute session with The Dispatch, Romney also reaffirmed his commitment to “pro-life” principles despite comments the day before that raised doubts about his consistency; maintained that he doesn’t care about risking a 2016 re-election loss by taking controversial stands as president; and said Ohio’s economy would be doing even better with a Republican president.

Romney has never released his full plan to replace the Affordable Care Act — a law that Obama has said was designed from the model Romney signed into law as governor of Massachusetts.

One of the most-popular components of Obama’s law is the provision that prohibits insurance companies from denying coverage to, or raising prices on, those with pre-existing health conditions.

“You have to deal with those people who are currently uninsured, and help them have the opportunity to have insurance,” said Romney, who favors letting states craft their own plans.

“But then once people have all had that opportunity to become insured, if someone chooses not to become insured, and waits for 10 or 20 years and then gets ill and then says ‘Now I want insurance,’ you could hardly say to an insurance company, ‘Oh, you must take this person now that they’re sick,’ or there’d literally be no reason to have insurance.

“It’d be the same thing as saying, ‘Look, you’re not required to have homeowners insurance, but if your home catches fire, then you can get insurance at that point.’ That wouldn’t make a lot of sense.”

Columbus Dispatch

Edit: Removed TP and WaPo articles, and linked straight to the Columbus Dispatch.
 
Lies. A lot of people avoid treatment because they have no way to pay for it, can''t take time off or are worried over immigration issues.
And his suggestion of emergency rooms is why they are so overburdened. Emergency rooms shouldn't be used as a free clinic, it should be for emergencies.
 
That's interesting because my Boss' brother just died because he didn't have health insurance and couldn't afford an organ transplant.
 
None of Mitt's answers make any goddamned sense. It's word salad based on fantasy and vaguely resembling what we already had before Obamacare. It's like he's trying to say our healthcare was fine before that, but he just can't get the words to describe that right, since that's obviously a completely ridiculous stance.


Hey Americans, is this guy gets elected I'll never forgive you.

I won't either if we do. I have absolutely no respect at all for this despicable human being and his crapstain of a running mate. They should both be taken out back and beaten, not made leaders of our country.
 
Tell that to my friend Loren who couldn't afford a $500 a month prescription for a liver drug that would have kept him from dying of liver cancer at 28.
 
Let's not forget the astronomical amount of Americans who have to declare bankruptcy because they can't pay for their health insurance.
 
i didn't realize you could get long term treatment and prescriptions required for things like cancer or diabetes at the ER.

Cool, Romney! Thx! You solved the health care crisis!
 
I keep telling myself that there is no way that the American people pick this slimy piece of human trash, but then I remember 8 years of Bush. Shame on us if this asshole wins.
 
Yes, when the emergency room finds you have cancer, the hospital takes you in, gives you every possible treatment and you are not billed.

I want to live in Romney's America. Sounds awesome!
 
Anyone considering voting for this madman needs some immediate re-educating. If they are still blind and choose to remain ignorant then a roundhouse kick to the face will have to do.
 
Not only is this batshit stupid, it only accounts for sudden, unforeseen health issues. Heart attacks are not the only way people die. Without insurance, people will have preventable and/or long term issues uncared for, and a trip to the ER isn't going to magically fix that.
 
is this what rich people think poor people can do? go into any emergency room and get any kind of care they need for however long they can? also does he ever stop to think that people who do go to emergency rooms end up having their credit destroyed because they can't pay back the bill?
 
Huh, so my mom doesn't actually exist? That certainly makes the sequence of events of my entire life rather confusing.
 
In his mind, there is probably no distinction between Emergency Rooms and free neighborhood clinics, I mean, they're both places where sick poor people go, especially if they don't have private doctors on retainer who make house calls, right?
 
The death of a Prince George's County boy this week from an infection that started with an abscessed tooth has spurred lawmakers to demand better dental care for poor children and has prompted a deluge of calls to local dentists for advice and appointments.

Deamonte Driver, a 12-year-old homeless child, died Sunday in a District hospital after an infection from a molar spread to his brain.

At the time he fell ill, his family's Medicaid coverage had lapsed. Even on the state plan, his mother said, the children lacked regular dental care and she had great difficulty finding a dentist.

Yep.
 
is this what rich people think poor people can do? go into any emergency room and get any kind of care they need for however long they can?

Romney lives in the Lucky Duck comic
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Seems like his boost from the debates has emboldened him to openly lie and contradict himself for whatever audience he's speaking with at any given moment. You have to be impressed with the cynicism on display.
 
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