VIDEO: Rep. Jenkins Laughs at Uninsured Single Mother, Son

Lynn Jenkins is really making a name for herself this past week.

No, I'm not talking about her "great white hope" comments. I'm talking about her incredibly cold response to a 27-year-old single mother without health insurance. This polite woman, a full time waitress, falls just within the health insurance crack. Despite having a young son, she can't afford health insurance and doesn't qualify for Medicaid or SCHIP. As the AP wrote:

"One was Elizabeth Smith, a 27-year-old Ottawa waitress who wanted to know what was wrong with a government-run plan for Americans who are currently uninsured. Smith's 2 1/2-year-old son, Jonah, sat on a nearby table, swinging his legs...

... Smith's son hasn't been to a doctor in 21 months, except for emergency room visits for ear infections, because she can't afford either insurance or a doctor's visit."

Jenkins' response? A hardy laugh and the words "go be a grown up."

This compassionless, bureaucratic exchange between Smith and Lynn Jenkins' was luckily caught on tape. The footage is incredible in its detachment from the dire situation that is our health insurance crisis.

Here's the video:

Here's the transcript:

Elizabeth Smith: I'm a 27 year-old single mother. I work full-time. I do not have health insurance. My employer does not provide health insurance to me and I cannot afford it privately. Why shouldn't my government guarantee all of its citizens health care?

Jenkins: Thank you. I'm sorry, maybe you missed my opening remarks, but absolutely. That's why we have Medicaid in the current system and that's why under the alternative proposal we have an option for low-to-modest-income people to be able to afford health care and then we've got the SCHIP program for children. I think we've got all of the bases covered.

Audience member: She's not covered under SCHIP!

Jenkins: OK, if you're not then you're the perfect example for why we need reform and why we need it now but we have to do it right and if we can do an alternative proposal, as I'm suggesting, give you the money to go buy it in a reformed marketplace where it is affordable, that's my preference rather than to saddle the nation with yet another government program when they can't afford the government run programs we have.

Elizabeth Smith: I want an option that I can pay for. 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: A government-run program (laugh) is going to subsidize not only yours (laugh) but everybody in this room. So I'm not sure what we're talking about here.

Jenkins: I think it comes down to the whole discussion of...

(The crowd erupts. At this point, it's safe to say even they aren't buying Jenkins position...)

Lynn: OK folks. Let's be respectful. UH-OH (talking over crowd). We're gonna make time for everybody. We're gonna all listen to each other respectfully, even if we disagree. I think we can agree we need reforms, again it's just how we gonna do it. I believe people should be given the opportunity to take care of themselves with an advanceable tax credit to go be a grown-up and go buy the insurance.

It's a shame that during this important debate Lynn Jenkins is so indifferent to the plight of those who need the most help. In fact, yesterday we also learned that Jenkins' hasn't even read the health reform bills being debated in Congress. The people of the Kansas Second Congressional deserve better.

To be honest, Kansas deserves better.

Help the KDP elect more Democrats and better elected officials! Make a donation today!

Follow Mike Nellis on Twitter: www.twitter.com/MikeNellis

Comments

[talkinhedz]

Wow.I read the Headline..Rep. Jenkins laughs at uninsured single mother....talk about MISLEADING..why can't common sense and honesty get in the debate?

[Simonsaid]

I cannot believe the mentality of the GOP. Ever since Obama was elected, the racism and selfish behavior has really come through.

What planet are these people living on? With regards to public healthcare, their thinking is why should I pay for poor people and minorities? It's incredible!

I live in Canada and no we don't have the most perfect healthcare system, but I wouldn't trade places with people in the U.S. if my life depended on it. There is no us and them thinking here when it comes to saving lives.

I hope Lynn Jenkins comes back as a working poor minority woman who is a single parent with no health insurance. This woman is an idiot!

And please don't give me the horror tactics or the socialism attitude, everybody on this planet has the right to health care.

[talkinhedz]

Did you even watch the video, or read the transcript?

[Simonsaid]

Yes I did, and your point is?

[NHGranite]

Why is a woman who is working full time not able to afford insurance? A little boy who hasn't seen a doctor has done what to the rest of us? I am not sure why he can't be on S-Chip, but if Kansas is anything like NH, you have to be both a single parent and under income to qualify for Medicaid.
St Matthew 25:31-46

[Broder]

This is a bogus story. Jenkins did not blow off this single mother for not getting her own health insurance. She had an alternate proposal for government funded health care for her. What she laughed at was the idea that, somehow, Jenkin's proposal was more of a freebie handout than what Congress is currently proposing. The money all comes from the same place.

[helmut]

She should have her tax payor paid health insurance coverage taken away from her and she can be a grown up and pay for her own.

[deepsouthfugee]

Amen.

[frenchville]

OK wait, did I miss something?

"I believe people should be given the opportunity to take care of themselves with an advanceable tax credit to go be a grown-up and go buy the insurance"

This person seems to be advocating for reform but just not this plan. She does not actually say to the young woman " Go be a grown-up and go buy insurance". She seems to be advocating for insurance reform.

This is what I hate about this debate. Everyone has a agenda and no one is listening. People are name calling, pointing fingers, and generally lying.

We really aren't acting like grown ups. OK there is a group of people who don't have health insurance. If they are truly stuggling, yes, help them out. Do we have to create a huge system to do it or can we overhaul the one that is here.

Calm down, slow down, and for heaven's sake, think people! Actually use your brain and let's problem solve. I am beginning to think this needs to come out of the hands of politicians and into the hands of some other people so it is first thought through clearly without the influence of parties and their agendas.

And with all due respect to Mr. Kennedy, his life or dealth is not a good enough reason to adopt something if it is not correct. The idea of helping is correct, the method needs some examination.

[helmut]

This debate isn't about a hand out, it is for reform with a public option for those who don't want to pay for private insurance. For those people who don't want the public option, then they simply do not have to choose it.

[fittovote]

There is nothing worth saving in the current system. Insurance companies skim 30% of every dollar paid in premiums for their overhead and profit. By comparison, Medicare costs about 5% in overhead and the VA even less.

So what is the purpose of private insurance companies? Obviously, to maximize profit for their investors. There is nothing wrong with making profit; it's good business. But a good business also provides a service or product that offers value to their customer in exchange for that profit.

I can discern absolutely no value that I derive from my insurance company in exchange for the 30% profit on premiums I pay them. For that extra 30% cost, I get nothing that contributes to my health and well being! Let's see... insurance companies limit your choice of doctor; insurance company bureaucrats stand between you and your doctor on medical decisions; insurance companies look for ways to deny your claims in order to maximize their profit; if you use too many medical services, insurance companies are apt to cancel your coverage, and then it will be impossible for you to get coverage anywhere else!

So insurance companies simply shuffle papers and act as a payment mechanism to your doctor, but they do not contribute in any way, to your health! So this whole thing is about a payment mechanism to our doctors. And why should we pay 30% extra for that "service" versus 5% that Medicare (for all) would cost us? We need Medicare for everyone!

[talkinhedz]

Well Put!

[talkinhedz]

I meant to say Well Put to fittovote, not to the responses.

[Ellen Gill - Huffpost Blogger]

At least she said something. When confronted by somone pleading for a more affordable solution, a pool into which he can buy in, Mark Kirk of IL-10 just stared at him, turned back to the podium and moved on.

[VOTER]

Thanks, Ellen.

We need for all voters to learn the truth about Congressman Mark "Bush" Kirk.

[valkyrie607]

The only thing that struck me as real about that exchange was that Jenkins, despite the evidence before her eyes, believes that there is nothing wrong with our current system. Sure, she talks about reform, but that's only because there are unhappy constituents bothering her about it all the time--silly little people! They should just grow up and take care of themselves.

[LADawson]

I truly do not understand how any member of congress can claim to be doing their job when they won't even read the legislation they are voting on. How can they possibly be representing the interests of their constituents if they don't even take the time to do the job they were elected to do? That'd be like a teacher walking in on the first day of class and giving out grades based on what they thought the students would end up with, without actually bothering teaching the class. If anyone else made their professional decisions without actually doing the work required of them, they'd be fired. Any elected official who does not actually read the legislation that they then vote on should be completely ashamed of themselves and resign. Voting only along their party line is not an educated choice, and it isn't what any constituents, regardless of their party or ideological affiliation, elected them to do. They elected their representatives to do what the name implies, represent the needs of the majority of the people. Not the wants of their party. If they are unable to uphold their oath to represent the people, they should find another line of work. Voters need to stop falling for these people's act. They can hold town halls until they're blue in the face, if they're not actually bothering to read the legislation and make educated choices for you, the voter, you are not being represented, it's just a parade of ignorance.

[RadicalRepublican]

Hi LADawson,

If I were a member of congress and we were voting on a bill to allow torture, I wouldn't need to read the details to know that I'd vote aginst it.

[LADawson]

You still cannot make an educated vote without reading the legislation... and just because some people say that's what is in the bill, how do you know without reading it? The Republicans have repeatedly spouted things that are not in the health reform bill(s) as fact... and other people believe them. To this day many people who voted for the Patriot Act or the resolution to go into Iraq say they regret their vote because they didn't actually read the legislation. If they had actually read it, maybe they would have made a more educated choice, instead of just drifting with the prevailing wind of their party.

[gaysofla]

And I bet Rep. Lynn Jenkins considers herself a Compassionate Conservate and a concerned Christian. Perhaps she and all these other so-called Christians who are fighting against a Public Health Care Option should go back and re-read the scripture they proclaim to follow.

Matthew 25:41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ 44 “Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ 45 “Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”