The Herald-Zeitung

Sen. Jon Kyl (R - Arizona) recently said, “I don’t need maternity care” as his reasoning for supporting his amendment to prohibit the government from setting minimum standards for certain insurance coverage. Essentially, Kyl’s argument was: Because I’m a man and will not get pregnant, I don’t need maternity care and requiring maternity care to be a basic benefit in a policy will make it more expensive. So, to keep health care costs down, insurers should not be required to cover basic prenatal and maternity care. By that logic, if you can call it that, as someone who doesn’t smoke or drink, I shouldn’t have to pay for coverage of lung cancer or emphysema or cirrhosis of the liver. Smoking and drinking alcohol are choices, after all.

Let’s hear it, Sen. Kyl, how about not paying for treatment of Type II diabetes since over-eating is a choice? What about injuries caused by falling off a ladder? Climbing on the ladder was a conscious choice. Then there’s artherosclerosis caused by the choice of a high cholesterol diet. I eat right. I don’t need that either. Why not require that you be able to check off all the things you don’t want your insurance to cover because you don’t think you’ll have the need?

I think Sen. Kyl nicely summarized the Republican approach to the health insurance crisis: I've got mine, too bad for you.

JC Dufresne

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