On NBC’s Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Mitt Romney said something shockingly cruel and that was that if someone has never had insurance, they don’t deserve coverage for a preexisting condition.
From Raw Story:
“Well, if they’re 45 years old, and they show up, and they say, I want insurance, because I’ve got a heart disease, it’s like, `Hey guys, we can’t play the game like that. You’ve got to get insurance when you’re well, and if you get ill, then you’re going to be covered,’” Romney replied.
The (actual) liberal media has been in a bit of a tizzy since hearing these remarks, but as non-compassionate as they sound, and as non-compassionate as Romney appears to be in general, I have to say that in this case, he’s right.
The health insurance system can’t afford to cover only sick people. That will raise the costs for everyone. However, where he is very wrong is that he offers no solutions. Sick people cost money, whether it’s in emergency room visits or in the resulting bankruptcies. One stock in trade of libertarians and today’s Republicans is that they seem incapable of seeing beyond the nose on their faces. Ensuring that everyone has medical coverage, whether through private insurance companies or more ideally, through a single payer system, is the best solution for the long-term economic health of the country.
Of course, Mitt Romney knows this. That’s why there is a mandate in RomneyCare. He as much as told us that Tuesday night, but he left out the second part, the part that he offered as Massachusetts Governor, ensuring that no person is without health insurance, even when they are healthy.
Here’s the video:
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