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March 8, 2017

Republican Party Divided over Plan to Repeal Affordable Care Act
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In Washington, D.C., divisions erupted within the Republican Party over
the GOP plan, unveiled Monday, to repeal much of the Affordable Care
Act, including its expansion of Medicaid. Factions within the Republican
Party that had hoped to repeal Obamacare altogether revolted against the
bill Monday, calling it "Obamacare lite." Conservative groups, including
Heritage Action for America and the Koch brothers' group Americans for
Prosperity, also condemned the bill. If more than a dozen House
Republicans refuse to vote for the bill, it could fail to pass the
House. Other Republicans spent Monday backing the plan, including
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, who vowed Tuesday, "The nightmare of
Obamacare is about to end." Utah Republican Congressmember Jason
Chaffetz also tried to defend the bill Tuesday in an interview with
Alisyn Camerota on CNN, but instead sparked controversy.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz: "You know what? Americans have choices. And they've
got to make a choice. And so, maybe, rather than getting that new i
Phone that they just love and they want to go spend hundreds of dollars
on that, maybe they should invest in their own healthcare."

On Twitter, people immediately condemned Congressmember Chaffetz's
comments, including best-selling author Roxane Gay, who wrote, "My
broken ankle cost $117,000 so that's around 234 i Phones."


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