Republican Congressional nominee Marty Ozinga is taking heat in his race for the Illinois 11^th Congressional seat. Ozinga’s opponent is Democrat Debbie Halvorson. Ozinga downplayed the importance of healthcare reform.

“There are very few people these days that have no health service at all. I don’t care who you are, if you’re sick or you get hurt, you go to the hospital and you get taken care of,” said Ozinga.

While true, Ozinga misses two very important points. First, prevention is considered an essential foundation of health care. Emergency room care is not prevention. Second, emergency room care bleeds cash for hospitals all around the country. It is a major cause of skyrocketing medical costs. Emergency care raises premiums and hospital charges. It is not a solution.

There are valid arguments on both sides of this debate, but emergency room care is meant for emergencies, not neglected or unaffordable maladies. Ozinga’s comment is reminiscent of President George Bush’s last year, “I mean, people have access to health care in America. After all, you just go to an emergency room.”