WATCH: Jason Chaffetz Tells Poor People To Choose Between iPhone Or Insurance
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) Image by twitter
Jason Chaffetz will not be winning an award for his bedside manner, after the Utah Republican said that low-income people would have to choose between electronics and medical attention under his party’s replacement for Obamacare. The GOP’s proposed replacement swap Obamacare’s mandate that individuals buy insurance with a penalty for letting insurance lapse.
“Maybe rather than getting that new iPhone that they just love and want to go spend hundreds of dollars on, maybe they should invest [that money] in their own health care,” Chaffetz said on CNN’s “New Day” Tuesday morning. The Republican bill would disproportionately impact poor individuals who have benefited from the expansion of Medicaid and the creation of income-based subsidies to purchase health insurance, policies that are in the cross-hairs under the proposal.
His comments drew mockery on Twitter.
Image by twitter
Image by twitter
The Utah congressman, first elected eight years ago, has cut a polarizing figure on Capitol Hill, spearheading investigations as head of the House’s Government Reform and Oversight Committee into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s private e-mail server. Many constituents and pundits have alleged those inquiries took a partisan hue, and have criticized him for a reluctance so far to pursue similarly hard-nosed investigations of the Trump White House.
Contact Daniel J. Solomon at solomon@forward.com or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
