U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, who suggested that low-income Americans will have to make a choice between healthcare or a new iPhone under the Republican's Obamacare replacement, faced a backlash on social media.
Chaffetz, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, made the comments on CNN's "New Day." The Utah Congressman was addressing a question dealing with access and cost under the Republicans' replacement plan for the Affordable Care Act when he made the comparison.
"Well, we're getting rid of the individual mandate," Chaffetz said of the Obamacare provision that required all Americans to purchase health insurance. "We're getting rid of those things that people said that they don't want.
"Americans have choices, and they've got to make a choice. So rather than getting that new iPhone that they just love and want to go spend hundreds of dollars on that, maybe they should invest in their own healthcare. They've got to make those decisions themselves," Chaffetz continued.
U.S. Rep. Larry Bucshon from Indiana said on "CNN Newsroom" that he did not want to see Americans make those kinds of choices.
"We don't want people to make choices in their life having to choose healthcare and leaving out other parts of their life that everyone else enjoys," Bucshon said, according to CNN.
Others on social media took Chaffetz to task about his comments.
Chaffetz attempted to clarify his remarks on Fox News's "America's Newsroom."
"What we're trying to say, and maybe I didn't say as smoothly as I possibly could, but people need to make a conscious choice, and I believe in self-reliance," Chaffetz told Fox News, according to The Hill. "And they're going to have to make those decisions. We want people to have access to an affordable healthcare product."
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