People are not happy with Rep. Jason Chaffetz’s (R-Utah) health care “solution” for low-income Americans.
In an appearance on CNN on Tuesday morning, Chaffetz proposed that a fix for people who have trouble affording health care coverage under President Donald Trump’s newly proposed law is simply to not buy an iPhone.
“Americans have choices, and they’ve got to make a choice,” he said on CNN. “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. They’ve got to make those decisions themselves.”
Naturally, the comment outraged many people, who pointed out the absurdity of the suggestion on sites including Twitter. Some have been proposing their own alternative for Chaffetz ― find them a health care system that costs less than what they’re paying for their iPhones.
@jasoninthehouse what an amazing deal! I will gladly trade my 8 yr old phone I paid $15 at Walgreens for Healthcare. Where can I sign up?
— Meg Rodgers (@MegRodgersHarp) March 7, 2017
. My last surgery hospital bill was $38,000 Rep. Jason Chaffetz show me an iPhone that cost as much I paid $0 for my iPhone. Free w/contract https://t.co/5WFf39yJ9q
— KimberlyDewayn (@KimDSummons) March 7, 2017
Hey Jason @jasoninthehouse I’m writing this to you on my $600 iPhone, bought once every 2 years. Can you get me insurance for $300 a year??
— eli friedmann (@eligit) March 7, 2017
iPhone monthly bill: $40
Health insurance (w/subsidy!): $264/month
If @jasoninthehouse has some idea how I can do better, my DMs are open!— Gary Legum (@GaryLegum) March 7, 2017
Others have been comparing the cost of an iPhone to their health care expenditures:
6 days in ICU cost my family 310 iPhones, and that was when we had insurance, @jasoninthehouse
— PissedOffPreMed (@pissedoffpremed) March 7, 2017
My one night in the hospital was $30,000+, or over 47 iPhones. My premiums are about 16 iPhones/yr. @jasoninthehouse
— Steve Brown (@sbrown23) March 7, 2017
Hey, @jasoninthehouse! Can you tell me how many iPhones my wife’s brain tumor will cost? I’m trying to budget here.
— Daniel Poehlman (@DPoem) March 7, 2017
