It is no secret that there are many Republicans who dislike some parts of the Affordable Care Act. Typically, they point to controversial parts of the ACA, such as the individual mandate, when they talk about how they would like to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Rick Santorum has taken things one step farther. He really hates the entire ACA, (even the parts that many people like).
The Affordable Care Act includes something called an individual mandate. This law would require all Americans who don’t have already have health insurance in 2014 to purchase a health insurance plan. Those that choose not to will have to pay a fine. Those who are low-income will get financial assistance to help them pay for health insurance.
The individual mandate is something that a whole lot of people do not like. The Supreme Court will be hearing a case this year that decides whether that part of the ACA is constitutional or unconstitutional. If Rick Santorum said he disliked the individual mandate, I wouldn’t be too surprised.
However, it appears that Rick Santorum really hates the entire Affordable Care Act. For example, he doesn’t think that it is a good idea to require health insurance companies to cover people who have pre-existing conditions.
He doesn’t think that health insurance plans should have to cover preventative care. No, he isn’t just talking about the controversial coverage for birth control. Santorum doesn’t want insurers to have to cover anything that has been officially defined as preventative care. That would mean he doesn’t want health insurance plans to cover the costs of things like cancer screenings, screenings for type 2 diabetes, and immunizations for children.
Santorum believes that requiring insurers to cover preventative care, and to cover people who have pre-existing conditions, makes health insurance more expensive. His solution is for everyone to open a health savings account, (HSA) and use the money in that to pay for their health care needs. One cannot open a HSA until after they have purchased a high deductible health insurance plan. I doubt that all Americans can afford to do this.
Santorum also is dislikes the health reform law that prevents health insurers from placing annual caps on how much they will spend on a person’s health care in a given year. He doesn’t think insurers should be prevented from placing a lifetime limit on how much money they will pay for one person’s health care needs.
In other words, he would like to continue to allow health insurers to offer “mini-med” health plans, that don’t cover much of anything, and that stop covering a person’s care after the $2,000 limit has been used up. Why? Again, Santorum believes that this is what causes health insurance plans to be expensive.
Disturbingly, Rick Santorum compares health insurance to car insurance. He points out that auto insurance doesn’t cover oil changes and new tires. He is equating the human body, of you, your spouse, and your children, to an inanimate, mechanical object.
It appears he sees no difference between the health care needs of a human, and the technical maintenance needs of a car. Perhaps this is why he doesn’t want you to have health insurance cover much of anything.
Image by the Italian voice on Flickr