BLUNT’S CALLOUS PRE-EXISTING CONDITION…. Of all the various elements of health care reform, perhaps the most popular were protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions. Before the Affordable Care Act, this group faced harsh penalties from insurers, either paying exorbitant rates, or finding themselves unable to find any coverage at all.
Democratic policymakers corrected this, and even many Republicans have said they have no intention of reversing course on this. Missouri’s Roy Blunt (R), however, has a unique approach to the issue. Here’s what he told an ABC affiliate in Missouri last week:
“Access for kids who have pre-existing conditions, who would be against that?” the House Republican said. “But access for adults, who have done nothing to take care of themselves, who actually will have, as I’ve just described, every incentive not to get insurance until the day that you know that you’re going to have medical expenses, that’s, that’s a very different kind of story.”
So, as far as Roy Blunt is concerned, if you’re an adult and you’ve overcome cancer, and you want health insurance, perhaps you should have taken better care of yourself. As for Blunt’s reference to “incentives,” he seems to be endorsing the individual mandate — which he happens to oppose.
Keep in mind, Blunt isn’t some random back-bencher — he’s the chair of the House Republicans’ Health Care Task Force.
He’s also in the midst of a very competitive Senate race in Missouri, where voters may find Blunt’s callous, far-right line on health care — he’s also said Medicare never should have been created — slightly problematic.
