Kansas Rep. Lynn “Great White Hope” Jenkins is in the news again. This time it’s for her thoughtful and compassionate response to an uninsured constituent.
In this clip, taken at a July town hall meeting, Jenkins is confronted by a constituent named Elizabeth Smith — a full-time waitress with two young kids. Smith’s employer doesn’t provide insurance, and she can’t afford private coverage. Smith’s not looking for a handout; she’s looking for an affordable choice.
“I want an option that I can pay for,” Smith told her representative. “I work. I pay my bills. I’m not a burden on the state. I pay my taxes. So why can’t I get an affordable option? Why are you against that?”
Jenkins responds, literally chuckling at the question, “A government-run program is going to subsidize not only yours but everybody in this room. So I’m not sure what we’re talking about here.”
Jenkins went on to tell Smith that “people should be given the opportunity to take care of themselves with a refund, or an advanceable [sic] tax credit, to go be a grown-up and go buy the insurance.”
Elizabeth Smith is exactly the type of person that health care reform is supposed to help. She’s one of the many Americans who is falling through the cracks. She works and she makes too much money to qualify for S-CHIP and Medicaid but doesn’t make enough money to afford insurance. Chances are, if she could buy insurance it’s that high deductible crap insurance which won’t pay for her regular doctor care.
BTW, Rep. Jenkins voted against S-CHIP. She doesn’t even pretend to care about Ms. Smith or her son’s plight. At least Sen. Coburn pretended to care about the woman with the brain-damaged husband.