The HMO Killed my Daughter; Mitt Romney killed my Wife

Several years ago I got into an e-mail debate with a woman who wrote a book “The HMO Killed my Daughter.” From her point of view her daughter  passed away all because the doctors were part of an HMO and incentives encouraged them to withhold care.

As outrageous as that is on many levels, people still believed it. Back in those days managed care and HMOs were often vilified. Look at Massachusetts to see how far we have come. Today, a state implements a law that must incorporate some forms of rationing to reach its goals and no one blinks … but I digress.

Then we have the infamous Romney is responsible for my wife’s death ad. This would be an outrageous charge even if the facts in the ad were accurate … they are not. But I bet it will be circulating on the web as if it were the gospel.

Romney was not with Bain when the plant closed, he was running the Olympics. The woman died five years after the plant closed and had health insurance for at least some period during that time. The plant closed eight years after Bain acquired the company because it was bankrupt at least in some small measure because the union refused to make any concessions to reduce costs. There were many problems facing the steel companies, of course.

As I have said endlessly. Health care is so emotional many people are incapable of any objective or logical thought when it is discussed.

All politicians lie and their ads are often misleading, but using health care in this way seems to have reached a new low.