Dead at 49 because he couldn't afford insurance: Terrible fate of Ron Paul aide emerges hours after Republican said state shouldn't provide free health care



Kent Snyder died from complications caused by pneumonia because his premiums were too expensive

49-year-old was Ron Paul's campaign manager during failed 2008 bid to secure Republican presidential nomination

Mr Paul told Tea Party debate people who did not have insurance should be left to fend for themselves

Retired physician also said churches should step in to care for those without cover



Tragic death: Kent Snyder, former campaign manager for Ron Paul, died from pneumonia because he was unable to afford medical insurance

Ron Paul's former campaign manager died from complications caused by pneumonia because he couldn't afford health insurance, it has emerged.

The details surrounding the 2008 death of Kent Snyder were revealed by Gawker after the Tea Party candidate indicated he did not agree with free state health care for the poor.



Mr Snyder, 49, died on June 26, 2008, with hospital costs totalling $400,000 after he became ill with viral pneumonia.

The bill for his care was sent to his mother, who was unable to pay, and so a website was set up by friends to secure donations. Mr Paul's election campaign did not provide workers with medical insurance.

At the time, Mr Snyder's sister was quoted in the Kansas City Star as saying that a 'pre-existing condition made the premiums too expensive' for the campaign manager.

It comes after Mr Paul, a physician and opponent of federal healthcare, appeared to suggest people who fell ill should be left to fend for themselves, even if they don't have health care, during a Tea Party debate.



On Monday night, the candidates - who also included Michele Bachmann and Mitt Romney - were asked whether the state should pay health care bills for an uninsured young man who suddenly found himself ill.

Mr Paul said: 'That's what freedom is all about - taking your own risks.

'This whole idea that you have to take care of everybody...'

He did not finish the answer as a the partisan crowd drowned him out with applause.



The value of a life? Mr Paul makes a point during the Tea Party debate in Tampa, Florida, on Monday Partisan: A boisterous crowd at the debate cheered when CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer suggested that a young man without insurance who fell ill should be left to die

HEALTH CARE IN THE U.S.

More money is spent on health care per person in the U.S. than anywhere else in the world. Most Americans get their health insurance through their employer, by paying premiums from wages.

The government also funds some public schemes, including Medicare, Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program. The remainder are left without health insurance. Last year, the number of people without cover reached nearly 50 million. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed into law by President Obama last year aims to expand eligibility for medical cover, subsidise premiums and provide incentives for companies to give health care benefits. Most Republicans, including the Tea Party, strongly oppose the act and it was only passed with major amendments.

But when CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer asked if meant that 'society should just let him die', Mr Paul stopped short of agreeing.

He responded that it was up to churches to care for the dying young man, but the audience voiced their support of the idea.

After Mr Snyder's death, Ron Paul posted a message on his campaign website.



He said: 'Like so many in our movement, Kent sacrificed much for the cause of liberty.



'Kent poured every ounce of his being into our fight for freedom. He will always hold a place in my heart and in the hearts of my family.'

Mr Paul withdrew from the election race two weeks after Mr Snyder's death, but having raised millions for his campaign.

Many conservative Christian voters agree with Mr Paul's idea that individuals and churches should have authority over healthcare, as many are worried about federal funding directed to birth control.

During the debate, Mr Paul said: 'We've given up on this whole concept that we might take care of ourselves and assume responsibility for ourselves, our neighbours, our friends, our churches would do it.

'The cost is so high because we dump it on the government. It becomes a bureaucracy. It becomes special interests. It kowtows to the insurance companies, then the drug companies.'

None of the candidates disapproved of the idea of individuals funding their own healthcare or remarked on the audience reaction.



One critic, Eddie Vale of the Protect Your Care group, told the Los Angeles Times it was like a 'spectacle one would have expected back in the gladiatorial combat of ancient Rome'.

Census data released last week showed that the number of people without medical insurance in the U.S. went up to almost 50 million in 2010.

Mr Snyder is credited with turning his one-man operation into a phenomenon now calling itself 'The Freedom Movement'.

He persuaded Mr Paul to run for office and launched his campaign on his own computer in his apartment in Arlington, Virginia.

From there he built it into a $35million operation with 250 employees that secured more than a million votes for Mr Paul's nomination.

Jesse Benton, a spokesman for the Texas congressman, said: 'It was Kent more than anyone else who encouraged and pushed Ron to run for president.

'Ron would not have run for the presidency if it had not been for Kent.'

Although he was unsuccessful in securing the nomination, his campaign has attracted a strong group of support drawn to his libertarian strain of conservatism.

His opposition to the Iraq war set the 72-year-old apart from other Republican presidential candidates.



Mr Snyder began in politics as a volunteer on Ronald Reagan's failed 1976 bid to win the Republican presidential nomination.