State Republicans Blast mandate requiring oral chemo drugs, so insurers can save money. Blame the free market if people die.

Republican Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch wants the free market to decide if oral chemo therapy should be included in all Wisconsin insurance policies, the same kind of treatment she received through husband Rep. Joel Kleefisch's government provided health insurance plan.

And she's not alone. While conservatives have criticized government bureaucrats for supposedly getting between a doctor and their patient with rationed care, their beloved free market insurance companies are allowed to ration care to save money.

GOP Rationing Okay: At what is more than a glimpse into what Republican free market health insurance will look like, rationed care is rationalized as a good thing now, because it will save insurers money and get rid of those nasty government mandates. Small government = no mandates/lost lives. From WKOW's Greg Neuwmann:



This denial of coverage is a direct result of Republican opposition to "mandates." Yes, this is how far Republicans will go to prove their purity of purpose! This bizarre story first appeared in Nov. 2011, when Rebecca Kleefisch stated point blank that residents of Wisconsin should be treated differently than someone married to a state legislator.  She's "hoping" more insurance companies will cover the drug. Oh, and you'll love the insurance industry rep justifying the cost savings and threatening higher premiums if there's a mandate:



The elitist attitude shines through in the Kleefisch comments below:

Yesterdays poll results

Keefisch: "We obviously want to encourage free enterprise and free markets, but on the other hand, Oral chemotherapy is something that is up and coming in the medical world, and we're hoping, obviously that more insurance companies will cover it."

Kleefisch comes at the issue from a personal perspective. His wife, Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, used oral and IV chemo to fight colon cancer in 2010. But he (Rep. Joel Kleefisch) has questions over the cost of an insurance mandate.

"It is my hope and prayer that anybody who would need this type of chemotherapy would be able to receive it, no doubt," said Kleefisch. "That does not eliminate the difficult question for who is going to pay for it." 

Rep. Joel Kleefisch is actually weighing out whether we should save lives or keep costs down. And these guys say Democrats want to ration care?