Mccain

via Dawn Teo: Sen. Kyl Not Sure People Die From Lack of Health Insurance
by Dawn Teo, Arizona Politics, Posted: October 19, 2009 11:57 AM

On Meet the Press Sunday, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) was asked by host David Gregory if it is “a necessity to tackle the fact that there are more and more Americans who die because they don’t have access to health insurance?”

Kyl responded with incredulity:

Senator John Kyl, R-AZ

I’m not sure that it’s a fact that more and more people die because they don’t have health insurance. But because they don’t have health insurance, the care is not delivered in the best and most efficient way.

Why let facts get in the way of a good a$$ kissing? The question to him above comes on the heels of a study completed by Harvard Medical School and Cambridge Health Alliance and published online on September 17th. From Harvard.edu:

Nearly 45,000 annual deaths are associated with lack of health insurance, according to a new study published online today by the American Journal of Public Health. That figure is about two and a half times higher than an estimate from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in 2002.

…The study, which analyzed data from national surveys carried out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), assessed death rates after taking into account education, income, and many other factors, including smoking, drinking, and obesity. It estimated that lack of health insurance causes 44,789 excess deaths annually.

But Kyl comes along and with a wave of his hand dismisses a Harvard University Study because he’s “not sure it’s a fact”. This is the thinking that has caused or exacerbated endless problems from Iraq to climate change.

Kyl is the same guy who said that it was okay to deny women health care because they are pregnant, as a pre-existing condition, because he himself doesn’t need it. Does he think this is funny? He’s saying that it is perfectly fine to deny an expectant mother and her fetus proper medical care pursuant to medical practice and wisdom?

Senator Kyl and Senator McCain, both Senators form Arizona voted against the Franken amendment which guaranteed women protection in the work place from sexual assault – and that means they are okay with the status quo. Who could vote against that? Who could vote to continue to allow sexual assault on women in a workplace?