Are you unable to afford your new health insurance premiums now that Obamacare might be going away? Well, according to Rep. Jason Chaffetz, you should trade in your iPhone.
The GOP’s replacement plan for Obamacare has been met with plenty of hate from both sides of the aisle, but in an interview this morning, Chaffetz pointed out that people just aren’t focusing on how the new law will give us all more choices.
“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 health care,” Chaffetz told CNN. “They’ve got to make those decisions themselves.”
GOP Rep. Chaffetz: Americans may need to choose between "new iphone… they just love" and investing in health care https://t.co/5Hxwn2uOl5
— New Day (@NewDay) March 7, 2017
As a member of the House Judiciary Committee with a $174,000 base annual salary — and high-end health insurance provided by the government — Chaffetz should be reminded that an iPhone costs a fraction of the $5,277 per year the average family spends on coverage, according to the Kaiser Foundation.
Suggesting that an iPhone is a luxury item instead of a necessity is also ridiculous. Smartphones have quickly become the primary way most Americans access the internet, which is now a necessity if you want to operate in the digital world.
Chaffetz does makes Apple a priority in his own life, though. Federal Election Commission filings reveal he spent $738 of his campaign donors’ money at the Apple Store.
Later in the day, Chaffetz walked back his comments a few steps, saying “people need to make a conscious choice and I believe in self-reliance.”
Obviously, Chaffetz doesn’t understand that just because you can’t afford health insurance doesn’t mean you’re financially irresponsible.
