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Joseph Crowley: Chicken soup for ACA’s soul
Congressmen have made a habit of employing quirky visual aids on the House floor, and Rep. Joseph Crowley joined the club Wednesday with a blown-up poster of a can of Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup.
The New York Democrat’s message? That Chicken Noodle Soup is “mmm, mmm bad” as a health care policy.
“Today, Republicans in the House will once again bring up a repeal of the Affordable Care Act,” he said during a discussion over repealing President Barack Obama’s health care law. “We’ve seen a lot of repeal from them, but not as much with respect to their so-called plan to replace. But, I think I’ve figured out what the GOP wants to replace the Affordable Care Act with.
“Here is what I assume must be the Republicans’ plan for health care in our country: chicken noodle soup. Many of our grandmothers have told us that chicken noodle soup is the cure-all for anything, but I think the Republicans’ plan takes grandma at her word a little too literally. Can’t afford health care coverage and need medical care? Have some chicken noodle soup. Been diagnosed with a serious disease and can’t afford the prescription drugs you need to treat it? Well, at least you can rely on some good old chicken noodle soup. Have a preexisting condition like diabetes that lets your insurance company deny you coverage? That’s okay, have some chicken noodle soup, and it will be all better.
“But the truth is, it won’t be all better,” Crowley said. “The truth is, chicken noodle soup might be ‘mmm, mmm good’ for lunch, but as health care policy it is ‘mmm, mmm bad.’”
By Patrick Gavin, Politico.com
