ROMNEY (WTF!?!) "Nobody believes health care is expensive in America because of insurance companies"

[kpete]

QUOTE OF THE DAY.... There was a point, not too terribly long ago, when Mitt Romney considered himself credible on health care policy. That was before he decided he really wanted to be the Republican nominee for president, and that saying foolish things was the way to make that happen.

It leads to remarks like these on CNBC this morning.


"The president has been disingenuous trying to lay this at the feet of the health insurance companies," he said. "Nobody believes that health care is expensive in America because of insurance companies. Health care is expensive because we use a lot of health care treatment."

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_03/022723.php

[Ardent15]

1. Romney has always been a lying tool

This isn't surprising.

[MrScorpio]

8. I read that and the word "tool" was the first thing that i thought of

You posted it first

[GrantDem]

2. Out of touch...

No concept of real life circumstances whatsoever. Sad really...

[dionysus]

3. !11!

:spray:

[YOY]

4. Wow...politicians are supposed to lie but come on Mittens!

n/t

[GReedDiamond]

9. Yes, Romney is either a LIAR or an IDIOT...

...or, come to think of it, most likely, BOTH.

[reflection]

5. He can't possibily believe that.

Not a chance. What a disingenuous tool.

[napi21]

6. And just WHY does Mittens think it's so expensive? nt

[DebbieCDC]

7. So...it's expensive because sick people need treatment

and people trying not to be sick need prescriptions and checkups and X-rays

If there is a logic in this someone PLEASE tell me what it is.

In the meantime, I think Mittens needs to change that magic underwear. It must be chafing him.

[BunkerHill24]

10. smack that man, in the hair..n/t

[JuniperLea]

11. Well, someone had to take over for Bush's "Opposite Speak"

Whatever Romney says must surely always, and forever, be polar opposite of the truth.

[MerryBlooms]

12. Another republican completely out of touch with reality

Yep, I'm totally shocked.

How much do you want to bet he has NO clue as to what his insurance premium is, let alone, what his monthly expenses are? None of these wealthy assholes know - hell, McCain doesn't even know how many damn houses he owns.

[Raven]

13. Pffft! The guy lived in a mansion in Belmont MA in the shadow of the Mormon Temple.

When he was Gov. there was a State Trooper's vehicle parked there all the time (I was by that house frequently). I wonder how much $ that cost the MA taxpayers and I wonder what kind of health insurance he had. His wife has MS. He ought to be ashamed of himself. This empathy challenged asshole rose on the reputation of his father. He has no idea how most people live. Let's ask him to put his wife into the health insurance situation most of the rest of us have to deal with.

[Blue Owl]

14. Another glimpse into GOP fantasyland

n/t

[gateley]

15. Jesus -- is he as dumb as he sounds? nt

[Walk away]

16. If 33% of health care costs in the U.S. goes to the insurance companies et al for processing...

the paper work, and the US spent $2.5 trillion ($8,047 per person) on health care in 2009, that leaves 82.5 billion dollars a year for everything but actual health care.

[TwilightGardener]

17. Shhh. Don't call him on this. Let it be the official Republican position, in fact:

health care is expensive and it's our fault because we sometimes need health care. You run with that, Mittens!

[OHdem10]

18. This is the GOP Line. This is not new. When Phil Gramm was still

in the house, he repeated this often.

What they are saying very simply: Because the patient has
no idea of the cost of a particular medication, treatment, whatever,
they go to the Doctor more frequently.

Implied here is if patient knew the cost of each item, they
would be more careful in use of insurance.

I do not necessarily agree but this is their thinking.

Also, they use this to promote Health Savings Accounts.
If you are actually paying the bill you will be more
careful in using the Health System.

This argument is as old as the hills.

[DefenseLawyer]

19. It's kinda like those folks at the Flint Country Club in Roger & Me

Everybody I know is doing terrific. I don't know why all these glooming guses are so down all the time. Things are great in Flint!

[gratuitous]

20. Now, now, Mitt conducted an exhaustive survey

And Brad, Biff, Buff, and Bingo all said that health care wasn't expensive. Boink was on the fence, but eventually agreed with his brothers. So you can see that nobody believes that health care is expensive and if it is, then it's not because insurance companies are at fault. Now, if we're done with this non-issue, the boys are fixin' to get ready to serve America some more by touring around in the Winnebago, solving people's problems and looking for love on the open road.

[Still Sensible]

21. There is another republican as stupid as Sarah

after all.

[SOS]

22. A lot of treatment?

What does that mean?

It's expensive because they charge outrageous prices here.

Some average price comparisons:

Coronary bypass
US $54,115
Germany $17,355

Appendectomy
US $9,500
Belgium $4,600

Hip replacement
US $45,000
Taiwan $7,500

MRI
USA (New York City) $2,200
Japan $98

[bullwinkle428]

23. How much of this fucker's income is made from health insurance companies?

FOLLOW THE MONEY...

[WeDidIt]

24. 1/3 of ALL money spent on health care in the USA is insurance company PROFITS

PROFITS!

That doesn't even include what they pay the employees, CEOs, and other overhead.

PROFITS!

[Submariner]

25. A Trust Fund Baby from the Lucky Sperm Club would say just that

Got his start with daddy's money and business connections. He has no concept of the real world worker.

[DCKit]

26. When running in 2008 I saw/heard him state in a TV interview...

Something very close to "the mistake we made in MA was using for-profit insurance carriers in the program."

Is hypocrisy formally listed as one of the Republican values yet?

[tech9413]

27. Of course Romney is an ass, but insurance isn't the only problem

Insurance aids in the poor quality of care by forcing medical professionals to run their offices with a cost/payment mentality. You can't provide good health care while trying to manage the bottom line.
If payment for services weren't such a major consideration, professionals could provide better service for much less.

Another item that might cause me to don my flameproof clothing is the mentality instilled in the medical profession. They are trained within a specific framework that does not recognize the effect of naturalistic/homeopathic treatments. It's much easier for them to prescribe some expensive drug than to really diagnose the patient based on their diet/ environment.

I have the greatest respect for health care professionals on all levels, I just think they could do a much better job if they got away from the "cookie cutter" training that most professionals have to endure. The training and education you get in school is only the beginning of your education, it's what you do after that that sets you apart from the rest.