Yesterday, ThinkProgress brought you the tragic story of Kent Snyder, the campaign manager for Rep. Ron Paul’s (R-TX) 2008 presidential bid, who died at 49 from pneumonia because he lacked health insurance. Snyder convinced Paul to run that year, but his story is getting renewed attention this year in light of Paul’s exchange with moderator Wolf Blitzer at CNN’s debate Monday night in which he was asked what should be done with a hypothetical comatose 30-year-old man who lacked insurance. Some members of the audience yelled “yes!” he should be left to die.
Now, CNN reports that Snyder lacked insurance because he had a pre-existing medical condition, which “made it impossible for him to find coverage.” Watch the segment from last night’s Situation Room:
There are an estimated 50 to 129 million Americans who, like Snyder, have medical conditions that lead to higher health insurance costs or an inability to find coverage at any price. Solving this problem is one of the core goals of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act.
By 2014, the law will forbid insurers from charging sick patients more or rejecting them out of hand, something that is only possible when coupled with the individual health insurance mandate conservatives despise. But even before 2014, Snyder could potentially have been eligible for a federal high-risk insurance pool for people with pre-existing conditions, which was established last year.
People like Snyder, who cannot find affordable insurance, are exactly who the law is intended to help. Perhaps Paul — who has said “Obamacare” is “monstrous” and “bad for your health” — will soften his opposition to the law, given that it potentially could have saved his friend’s life
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