Romney Affirms Commitment to Fetus, but Not Heart Attack Victims

By Dr. Jen Gunter, Wielding the Lasso of Truth

18 October 12

he Columbus Dispatch is reporting an interview with Mitt Romney where he once again voiced his belief that a lack of health insurance is just no big deal:

"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,'??"

and

"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. We don't have people that become ill, who die in their apartment because they don't have insurance."

Uh, um. Hmmm. Well, yes Mitt that is what happens, people do die because they don't have health insurance. I have seen people die for want of a Pap smear, an appropriately timed mammogram, or medications to manage high blood pressure. And of course there are all the babies who died from prematurity, babies that I delivered from mothers who received no prenatal care.

But let's focus on heart attacks, since that's Romney's example. If you have a heart attack and are without health insurance you will hopefully end up in the emergency department (if you took an ambulance, add that to your stack of bills). And in the emergency department you will get your medical condition stabilized, you will get blood tests and imaging studies, you may be transferred to a cardiac care unit if you need it, and even surgery if it's warranted.

But if you are uninsured you are 31% more likely to die from this heart attack than if you are privately insured (Ng et al 2012).

So, it is kind of tough luck if you are uninsured, unless I am missing how a 31% greater chance of dying is somehow preferable.

And in that same interview Romney reaffirmed his pro-life stance.

It just boggles the mind.

Possibly a more accurate Romney slogan:

Glaucoma

Blocked Arteries

Can't get care

Dr. Jennifer Gunter is a nationally and internationally renowned obstetrician/gynecologist. She is the recipient of numerous research awards and has published extensively in medical journals and authored many book chapters. "The Preemie Primer" is her first book. Her writing has also appeared in USA Today, the A Cup of Comfort series, KevinMD.com, EmpowHer.com, Exceptional Parent, Parents Press, Sacramento Parent, and the Marin Independent Journal. Dr. Gunter also writes a sexual health column for examiner.com. She has been interviewed by numerous national media outlets and magazines, including CNN.com, More, US News and World Report, Runner's World, Glamour, Redbook, Woman's World, and Shape.

Dr. Gunter was born and raised in Winnipeg, Canada, and graduated from The University of Manitoba School of Medicine in 1990 at the age of 23. In 1995 she completed her OB/GYN training at the University of Western Ontario and moved to the United States to complete a fellowship in infectious diseases at the University of Kansas. After completing her fellowship she continued her studies in pain medicine and currently is the only OB/GYN in the United States who is board certified in both OB/GYN and pain medicine. Dr. Gunter is one of the select few physicians in the United States who holds four board certifications.