Rep. Jason Chaffetz: “Poor People Wouldn’t Be Poor If They Stop Spending All Their Money On That’ New IPhone”

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Republican lawmakers are rushing to defend their party’s new Obamacare replacement on news networks as it undergoes a through a gauntlet of criticism.

During an interview on CNN on Tuesday, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) tried to convince viewers that obtaining health care should be the responsibility of every American citizen and that the government should not be involved at all.

Chaffetz pointed out that under the Republican version of the health plan, poor Americans will need to tighten the belt if they want to be able to afford health care.

“You know what, Americans have choices, and they’ve got to make a choice,” he said. “And so maybe, rather than getting that new iPhone that they just love and want to go spend hundreds of dollars on, maybe they should invest in their own health care.”

A report from the Kaiser Family Foundation, the average premium in the United Stated for individual health insurance is around $235 per month. Getting an iPhone 7 through a phone carrier and making monthly installments over the two-year contract would only $27 per month.

Giving up the iPhone 7, like Chaffetz suggests Americans do, would only cover 11% of your health care plan.