Mitt: People don't die because they lack insurance

Romney doubles down on his claim that people without insurance don't "die in their apartment"

Published October 11, 2012 6:08PM (EDT)

In an interview with the Columbus Dispatch, Mitt Romney reiterated his claim that people don't die from a lack of insurance.

“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 said.

“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," Romney continued.

According to a 2009 study by Harvard Medical School, 45,000 people die each year, mainly because they lack health insurance. People aged 64 and under who don't have health care insurance have a 40 percent higher risk of death than those who do have insurance, the study found.

Romney made similar comments in a "60 Minutes" interview last month: “Well, we do provide care for people who don’t have insurance,” he said. “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.”

Via ThinkProgress.


By Jillian Rayfield

Jillian Rayfield is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on politics. Follow her on Twitter at @jillrayfield or email her at jrayfield@salon.com.

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2012 Elections Barack Obama Health Care Mitt Romney Obamacare