Image: @RepMarshall Twitter
A US congressman is facing backlash over comments he recently made about the poor during a discussion of the Affordable Care Act.
Rep. Roger Marshall (R-Kansas) was recently interviewed about Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion.
“Just like Jesus said, ‘The poor will always be with us,’” Marshall said. “There is a group of people that just don’t want health care and aren’t going to take care of themselves.”
The comments were widely reported, and Marshall, a medical doctor, quickly found himself facing condemnation from advocacy groups.
“I can’t understand how a physician would not already have a fundamental understanding of that issue, but it doesn’t feel like he does,” Medicaid advocate Sean Gatewood told the Kansas City Star.
Marshall has since sought to walk back the comments, according to a Bloomberg report. He told the Star that he was “a physician, not a politician,” and that his point was “that Obamacare has been detrimental to patients.”
What do you think? Did Marshall go too far? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
