This weekend on "60 Minutes" we saw another shocking flip flop
from Mitt Romney. While his other flip-flops can be explained as blatant
pandering to reach the conservative base, his statement on "60 minutes" represented a departure from rational thought. Watch:
There is something very concerning about his statement. Politicians, Political Pundits and even insurers have agreed that the high number of uninsured people using the ER as their
primary form of healthcare is driving up costs across the board. In fact, a Families
USA study found that uninsured use of the ER room cost all American families
and average of $1000 extra per year.
Bruce Bodaken, the CEO and Chairman of Blue Shield
California echoes this sentiment:
Uninsured individuals end up getting the most
costly care possible - in the emergency room. It costs $91, for example, to
treat a patient with strep throat in a doctor's office. Treating that same
patient in the emergency room costs more than three times as much - $321.
When massive amounts of Americans are uninsured, they look to the ER as their
primary care, it increases costs. It's a very simple equation. Even the Mitt Romney of old shared this same
thought. Here’s a look at his greatest hits highlighting the cost of ER health care.
"People who don't have insurance nonetheless receive health
care. And it's expensive."
–Mitt Romney, NPR
"Otherwise you're just passing your
expenses on to someone else," Romney said. "That's not Republican,
that's not Democratic, that's not Libertarian. That's just wrong." –Mitt
Romney, NPR
“By law, emergency care cannot
be withheld. Why pay for something you can get free? Of course,
while it maybe free for them, everyone else ends up paying the bill, either in
higher insurance premiums or taxes.” From a Wall Street Journal editorial Mitt
Romney wrote.
He has shown time and time
again that he fundamentally believes the model of leaving uninsured people to
use the ER, is not a sustainable solution for America’s healthcare system… and
yet he said this:
"Well, we do provide care for people
who don’t have insurance. If someone has a heart attack, they don’t sit in
their apartment and die. We pick them up in an ambulance, and take them to the
hospital, and give them care. And different states have different ways of
providing for that care.” - Mitt Romney, 60 Minutes
This statement represents a departure from all rational thought Mitt Romney has held as a business person and Governor. It reeks
of desperation, and further confirms he has no spine, no original ideas and would take us back to an inefficient healthcare. He no longer believes in his values but is being persuaded by handlers, advisers, CEOs and who knows who else.
This fall we must send a clear message
to Mitt Romney, that universal health care is not just a right, but better for
all Americans. Will you sign our pledge to vote Democrat this fall, so that we
can keep health care reform moving towards Medicare for all, and not back to
Romney’s broken ER for all.
