Do you have a pre-existing condition? Well Ron Paul says too bad for you, buddy, if you can’t get health insurance. And by buddy I mean even his close friends and long-time staffers. To be honest, I think this probably applies to anyone in the GOP field who has pledged to repeal the Health Care Reform Act (Affordable Care Act), but Ron takes the cake when it comes to being out in front on the issue, shall we say. Or better yet, let him explain it in his own words (from TPM:
Ron Paul told TPM on Wednesday that even if there’s a “case or two” that makes Americans uncomfortable, the government should stay out of the health care business. Even if one of the cases in question is his former campaign manager, Kent Snyder, who died with $400,000 in unpaid medical bills after being unable to secure health insurance due to a pre-existing condition. […]
“Well first off, people do get care, even under this terrible situation we have in medicine today,” Paul told reporters when asked about his former aide. “Kent, my campaign manager, wasn’t denied any care at all.”
According to Snyder’s friends, he was unable to obtain affordable health insurance — rendering moot Paul’s advice at the debate to find coverage in advance — because of a preexisting condition. Under the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies will no longer be able to reject customers on these grounds starting in 2013. I asked Paul whether Snyder’s inability to secure health insurance, even if he wanted it, put him in an impossible situation without government support. He suggested that states and counties could take action to help the sick, but put the emphasis on charity.
“Why do we suddenly lose confidence, that everyone is going to be thrown out into the street?” he said. “It just doesn’t happen and usually there are people that will help. But this idea you throw away the principles of liberty because you have a case or two where you go ‘Oh, I’m nervous about it’ – it just doesn’t justify doing your own thing.”
Yes, we all desperately need the “liberty” to die and insurance companies need the liberty to deny us health insurance for pre-existing conditions. Though I will grant Mr. Paul, this much, he’s consistent. Or maybe not. Hey Ron, did you contribute any money to help pay your friend and employee’s health care costs? Apparently a website was set up so people could contribute money to pay off the $400,000 worth of medical bills that bankrupted your buddy and his family, but his “other” friends say the site has raised only about $34,000 so far.
In any event, Ron Paul, by sticking to your heartless guns, I’m sure you have made Kent Snyder’s family proud. At least they and we know he died for the cause you believe in. The liberty to die broke and bankrupt your family (and pad the profits of the health insurance vultures – er, companies).
As for me, I sure would like me some of that single payer insurance they have in Canada (and hopefully Vermont). Maybe we should try to make that an issue in the election next year. What do you think? I for one would give money to a PAC set up to produce ads for single payer health care and attacking candidates who want to allow health insurance companies to deny coverage based ion pre-existing conditions.
Because trust me, if Republicans win the Presidency, or even both he House and Senate the right for Corporate Persons such as Blue Cross/Blue Shield and Aetna, etc. to deny other persons of the non-corporate variety health insurance for pre-existing conditions will be re-established. All in the name of Liberty, of course. Ron Paul is actually doing the rest of the Republicans a favor. By taking the lead on this, he takes all the fire that other Republicans, who agree with repealing the ACA, deserve as much as he does.
You think they aren’t thrilled Ron, the man who can’t win the nomination is saying these things publicly? He’s their own human shield on this issue. Secretly I bet they are hoping he hangs around as long as possible in the race so he makes the rest of them look like moderates on repealing health care reform and eradicating Medicare when they hem and haw and say “Oh, I wouldn’t go that far” even though we know they will.
I’ll let the people at risk of dying have the last word:
