Deep in the heart of Georgia there’s a Republican Insurance Commissioner who isn’t afraid to tell people with pre-existing health conditions what he really thinks of them, and his name is Ralph Hudgens. In November, he spoke out against the Affordable Care Act to a group of Republican women and this is what he had to say about those scum-sucking leeches otherwise known as … people with pre-existing medical conditions (and yes, the emphasis below is mine):
I’ve had several companies come in and they have said just the fact — just the fact — that in the individual market pre-existing conditions have to be covered on Jan. 1, that that is going to double the cost of insurance. And if you don’t really understand what covering pre-existing conditions would be like, it would be like in Georgia we have a law that says you have to have insurance on your automobile. You have to have liability insurance. If you’re going to drive on Georgia’s roads, you have to have liability insurance. You don’t have to have collision. You don’t have to have comprehensive. You don’t have to have rental car or towing or anything else. But you have to have liability.
“But say you’re going along and you have a wreck. And it’s your fault. Well, a pre-existing condition would be you then calling up your insurance agent and saying, ‘I would like to get collision insurance coverage on my car.’ And your insurance agent says, ‘Well, you never had that before. Why would you want it now?’ And you say, ‘Well, I just had a wreck, it was my fault and I want the insurance company to pay to repair my car.’ And that’s the exact same thing on pre-existing insurance.”
Yes, it’s your fault if you get cancer, schizophrenia, ADHD, Multiple Schlerosis, Parkinson’s Disease, epilepsy, diabetes, or any of a gazillion other chronic disorders or life threatening illnesses. You (and by you I mean myself and practically everyone I know) deserve no medical treatment unless you can pay for it all on your own dime. Period. Doesn’t matter how great a person you are, or what other contributions you make to society, if you have a “pre-existing” health condition you should just suffer with it. Or better yet die. Because it ain’t right that all Americans should have universal healthcare. It’s goddam socialism, and anyone who gets a policy that covers pre-existing conditions is a low-life, government welfare queen out to destroy our most precious American values (especially those values that Republicans and Insurance Companies hold most dear – the value of their stock holdings).
Snark aside, it is hard to be shocked or surprised by anything a Republican elected official will say these days, but I confess that I was surprised by Mr. Ralph Hudgens’ statements against covering people with pre-existing health problems under the ACA. Even many of his fellow Republican officials in Congress claim they want to keep coverage for pre-existing conditions in future health insurance policies, even as they vote multiple times to repeal the ACA. I suppose I should thank Commissioner Hudgens for his honesty. At least he isn’t lying about his complete lack of human decency or his cold, black heart. More than you can say for the rest of those lying, deceitful hypocrites.
