Mitt Romney: People Don't 'Die In Their Apartment Because They Don't Have Insurance'

The Huffington Post  |  By Bonnie Kavoussi Posted: 10/11/2012 10:54 am EDT  Updated: 10/11/2012 3:58 pm EDT

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who has pledged to repeal Obamacare, says that people without health insurance don't have to worry about dying as a result.

"We don't have people that become ill, who die in their apartment because they don't have insurance," Romney said in an interview with the Columbus Dispatch's editorial board on Wednesday.

While it's difficult to tell how many people die each year from lack of health insurance, one study, from a health care advocacy group, puts the number at 26,000 deaths per year.

"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 added in the interview. "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."

Romney took a similar stance in an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes" in late September, when he said: "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."

Roughly 4 in 25 Americans, or nearly 49 million Americans, had no health insurancelast year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Repealing Obamacare would deny access to health insurance to about 30 million uninsured Americans who would have received it under health care reform.

Letting so many people go uninsured ultimately can cost both individuals and society. When people lack health insurance, their health worsens, and their health treatments become more expensive, research has found. People without health insurance also are in danger of facing massive medical bills, debt, and bankruptcy if they get sick or injured.

On top of that, society at large sometimes must pay for the uninsured through higher taxes and health care costs. The government often helps payfor unpaid emergency room bills.States and cities that run hospitals lose money when hospital bills go unpaid. And economists have found that hospitals sometimes charge higher prices for health care, and health insurance companies sometimes charge higher premiums, because the uninsured often are unable to pay for health care.

Wealthy Benefit Most From Tax Cuts

Paul Ryan's most recent budget proposal would save those making between $20,000 and $30,000 just $246 in taxes, compared to savings of $265,011 for those who make over $1 million, according to analysis from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Health Care Cuts

The "Path to Prosperity" would cut $2.4 trillion from Medicaid and other health care programs for people with low or moderate incomes, according to analysis from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Fewer People Covered By Medicaid

Under Ryan's "Path to Prosperity" as many as 44 million fewer people would be covered under Medicaid, according to CBS News.

Reduced Health Care For Retirees

Ryan would raise the age of Medicare eligibility from 65 to 67. If the Affordable Care Act was repealed, something Romney has pledged, that means many 65- and 66-year-olds would be left uninsured, the CBPP reports.

Seniors Would Pay More For Health Coverage

Under Ryan's "Path to Prosperity," senior citizens would have to pay as much as 68 percent of their health care coverage, up from 25 percent today,CBS News reports.

Cuts To Food Stamp Programs

Ryan's proposed "Path to Prosperity" includes $134 billion in cuts to SNAP, according to analysis from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Lower Tax Credit For Single Moms

A single mother of two working full time at the minimum wage would have her Child Tax Credit cut by more than $1,500, assuming she made $14,500 a year, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Less Money For Education

Compared to the most recent White House budget proposal, Ryan's budget spends 33 percent less on education, training, employment and social services, the Washington Post reports

Poor Weather Forecasts

Ryan's proposed cuts to environment and natural resource programs could result in weather forecasts being only half as accurate, according to Third Way's budget expert, David Kendall. "For many people planning a weekend outdoors, they may have to wait until Thursday for a forecast as accurate as one they now get on Monday," he's quoted as saying in the Washington Post

No Raises For Government Workers

The current government worker pay freeze would be extended under the "Path to Prosperity," meaning public-sector employees wouldn't get a raise until at least 2015, the Washington Postreports