Congressman Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) has a curious idea of what works well in our current health care system. During a recent town hall meeting, an uninsured elderly man told Kingston that because he lacked insurance, the bills he accumulated in order to receive the necessary treatment for his colon cancer had left him "functionally bankrupt."
Kingston brushed past this fact, instead praising his experience of being forced to just show up at the hospital in order to receive life-saving treatment that has left him broke:
But you did get coverage. You didn't get the insurance, but they won't turn you down at the door. And we do need to focus on people like you. However, here's the problem: among other things, in countries that have socialized medicine, you have longer waiting lines, you have bureaucracy...it does lead to rationing.
WATCH: (H/t Think Progress)
As Think Progress explains, when people use the emergency room as their primary care center, it drives up health care costs for everyone.
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