IDAHO: GOP Rep Tells Audience “Nobody Dies Because They Don’t Have Access To Health Care” [VIDEO]

The Idaho Statesman reports:

A statement made by U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador during a town hall meeting Friday morning has drawn criticism by those challenging his stance on health care. After a woman suggested that the lack of health care was essentially asking people to die, Labrador had a controversial answer at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston.

“That line is so indefensible,” Labrador said. “Nobody dies because they don’t have access to health care.” A video of the statement, posted on YouTube by Tom Hansen, drew attention from national news outlets, including CNN. An email to Labrador’s press secretary late Friday for comment did not receive an immediate response. Labrador on Thursday voted in favor of the American Health Care Act, pushed by the GOP through the House.

The ongoing dispute over whether to fill the so-called Medicaid gap in Idaho has led to disagreements, but it has also brought forward stories of people who actually died because of the lack of access to heath care. Jenny Steinke, of Idaho Falls, was one example repeatedly brought forward in Idaho. Steinke died at age 36 from an asthma attack after her condition had gone untreated for years because she couldn’t afford health insurance.


RELATED: Labrador was the first US House sponsor of the First Amendment Defense Act, which would legalize anti-LGBT discrimination nationwide.