White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Thursday defended a newly promised provision in the GOP plan to repeal and replace Obamacare by saying that older men “can generally say” they will not need coverage for maternity care.
Republican leaders on Thursday signaled to hardline conservatives that the Senate may add a provision to the bill gutting Obamacare’s Essential Health Benefits (EHB) rule, which mandates that insurance plans cover a basic minimum of health care services, including maternity care.
“A lot of people buy insurance not knowing what they’re going to need,” RealClearPolitics reporter Alexis Simendinger noted to Spicer during his daily briefing.
“Well, I think if you’re an older man you can generally say you’re not going to need maternity care,” Spicer replied.
Spicer was not the first Republican on Thursday to bring up and simultaneously brush off women’s health services in response to questions about the EHB rule.
Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) apologized on Thursday after sarcastically telling TPM that he doesn’t want his “mammogram benefits taken away” — though mammograms are mandated under a different section of Obamacare.
Roberts was referring to the often-aired Republican argument that men should not have to pay for insurance that covers services only used by women.
“I deeply regret my comments on a very important topic,” Roberts later tweeted. “Mammograms are essential to women’s health & I never intended to indicate otherwise.”
Dear Spicer, In many European countries many men do get maternity leave, because for some reason the men there feel like they have a part to play in bringing infants into the world and providing for their care.
Chortle away, Spicey. Bet they do want to make sure their daughters, grand daughters, heck even the neighbor down the road, or the woman across the country have Maternity Care.
Most insurance from work don’t offer ala carte coverage for male vs female conditions - its how they keep a large pool affordable. Your joke might be funny to your alt-right bros, but it shows (as it did with Roberts) your ignorance about how insurance works.
How old was your Cheeto God when his last child was born?
I don’t think Republicans know how insurance really works.
Do they REALLY want to go down that road?!