Phil Gingrey Laughs Off 14,000 Americans Losing Their Health Insurance Every Day (VIDEO)

Media Matters catches Republican Congressman Phil Gingrey (Georgia) in a pretty insensitive moment during a speech on the floor of the House. At one point during his long speech railing against health care reform, Gingrey found the idea amusing that 14,000 Americans losing their health insurance every day constituted some kind of health care crisis:

14,000 people are losing their health insurance every day NOT because of the cost of health insurance [laughs], they're losing it because they lost their job!

WATCH:

Read more about how rising health care costs have forced layoffs via Media Matters.

Send us tips! Write us at [e-mail] if you see any newsworthy or notable TV moments. Read more about our media monitoring project here and click here to join the Media Monitors team.

Comments

[LadyBeryl]

03:04 PM on 09/21/2009

What sad example of a legislator.

The point is that we need reform so that everyone can continue having AFFORDABLE health insurance even if they lose their jobs.

Is it that he lacks the ability to understand this or he thinks his listeners are easily fooled by his argument? Either way, this is very sad.

[marecek]

01:50 PM on 09/19/2009

How does such an ignorant and arrogant hayseed find his way into Congress? So apparently the 14,000 a day losing their insurance would be a crisis if it were due to the fact that the price is too high, but not a crisis if it were due to the fact that they lost their jobs. The point is that 14,000 a day are losing access to an absolute necessity of life. By the way, at this rate, that would be 5.1 million a year or 1.6 % of the entire population losing their health insurance. If this keeps up, by the end of 2016, that would be another 40 million without insurance, making for a total of nearly 90 million without insurance or 30 % of the entire population. If that is not a crisis, I don't know what is. I suggest that, until this crisis is fixed, we get Congress to show it's solidarity by taking it off its health insurance plan and lest them buy it on the open market. They could afford it, but after about one month of having to pay for it, they would change their tune post haste.

[MikeHermit]

01:49 PM on 09/19/2009

Southern legislators just give me the creeps. They do. Gingrey always has. Maybe it is the accent. Maybe it is the lack of compassion (for anyone but corporations), maybe it is the smug attitudes, the know better then you face. Yet they don't know better then me. And they mislead their constituents. The worst part for me is many of their constituents don't mind being mislead so long as it is a Republican with a southern drawl doing it.

[lisakaz2]

12:18 PM on 09/19/2009

Too bad he can't lose his job and benefits immediately.

[MarsAmbassador]

10:33 PM on 09/18/2009

This guy makes for bad political theatre.

[JennInGa]

06:34 PM on 09/18/2009

As a constituent, I emailed him and his response follows (edited for space)

As a physician for nearly 30 years, I am keenly aware of the problems that our current health care system faces ranging from quality of care to increasing costs.

One particular focus to improve health care is to lower the overall cost of care for all patients. As the author of the Assisting Doctors to Obtain Proficient and Transmissible Health Information Technology (ADOPT HIT) Act of 2009 and the Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act of 2009, I believe that we can accomplish these goals by providing tax incentives to physicians to invest in electronic medical records, as well as significantly reforming our medical malpractice liability system.

That said, I believe that this year will be a very important year in health care reform. I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to accomplish meaningful reform to ensure patients in the U.S. continue to receive the best care in the world, increase the number of Americans who receive coverage, and lower the overall cost so that health care is affordable.

At the same time, please be assured that I will not support any legislation that will put the U.S. down the path toward a single payer health care system. Patients and their doctors - not Washington bureaucrats - should be the ones making decisions about the best course of care.

[lisakaz2]

12:20 PM on 09/19/2009

What a load of bushwaggle. Who said single payer systems involve bureaucrats making decisions? And where is this guy showing any interest in supposed bi-partisan efforts. It's like kabuki.

[mcmchugh99]

05:28 PM on 09/18/2009

if the Dems have any gumption at all, they will make this person one of the Poster Boys of the Republican Party, who thinks it's a big hoot when people lose their jobs and health insurance.

[MajorNews]

05:23 PM on 09/18/2009

Just one more example of how Republicans are truly the enemy of the American people (Middle class) and Agents of Big corporations, Big Pharma, Big insurance, etc.
and they get away with this LIE by having carried out an ultimate Con Job, which con job is:
""Government cannot do anything....", which translated means you the People cannot do anything since this is supposed to be the Government of the People by the People for the People and most importantly it is the only representative that the People have as to what happens to their Taxes, which further Translated means pay Taxes and get nothing for your Taxes for if you ask for anything for your Taxes such as Universal Nationalized Health care we will then call it "Socialism..", which further Translated means pay Taxes and have your Taxes benefit the Big corporations, Big Military, Big Pharma, Big health insurance and not you the People.

I mean this so called congressman from TX is so stupid that thinks someone loosing their health care because they were laid off, due to not fault of their own, is funny and what that does not require government help to remedy, which government help in the form of Universal (single payer) Health Care he would get if he was from ALL European countries, Canada, etc.

[j-tho]

05:13 PM on 09/18/2009

Yeah ~ the laugh was evil ~ but he's also half right!
Many of us without coverage did in fact lose it after losing our jobs.
COBRA is simply too costly to manage on an unemployment stipend (even at the high end of the scale)!

[lisakaz2]

12:22 PM on 09/19/2009

Obama reduced it but it still ain't cheap.

[TazoWolf]

05:05 PM on 09/18/2009

What a vile man. There's NOTHING funny about losing one's job OR losing health insurance!

[IllinoisTexan43]

04:52 PM on 09/19/2009

Conservatives and their ilk are simply breathtaking in their heartlessness and cruelty. Not a conscience between the lot of them.

[OlongapoEd]

04:55 PM on 09/18/2009

Gingrey is probably unhappy because he hasn't heard any good "hare lip" jokes lately.

They might not always say it out loud, but I'm sure the typical reaction of those on the right would be along the lines of "Well, they lost their health insurance because they're stupidandlazy!!!"

[newbridge]

04:55 PM on 09/18/2009

And these guys say they are Christian? And Value Voters? Gimme a break!

[ricmarc]

04:49 PM on 09/18/2009

i would become a republican but that would involve the removal of my heart and brain and i am not sure medicare covers that.

[deeplycynical]

04:34 PM on 09/18/2009

Hey troglodytes! WTF is funny about 14,000 people losing either health insurance OR their jobs.
Please explain using your 'chrischun' family values.

[fuelie]

04:31 PM on 09/18/2009

He might just be laughing on the other side of his face in the next election.

[willhe]

05:06 PM on 09/18/2009

its georgia he's safe