This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Washington • Sen. Orrin Hatch said Tuesday that making changes to Obamacare is difficult because once Americans get on the government "dole, they'll take every dime they can."
Hatch, R-Utah, is part of a 13-member group drafting a new version of the Republicans' effort to replace Obamacare and made his comments to reporters after leaving a meeting with his fellow senators.
The seven-term Utah Republican is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee that will be key in the health care debate.
Asked by a reporter how the public's perception of the House version affects the Senate measure, Hatch responded: "The public wants every dime they can be given. Let's face it, once you get them on the dole, they'll take every dime they can. We've got to find some way of getting things under control or this country and your future is going to be gone."
Hatch's office clarified that the senator was attempting to describe the difficulty of reducing established entitlement programs.
"Senator Hatch was expressing the simple truth that real challenges exist in any attempt to roll back entitlement programs, especially those that upend what has become the status quo," it said in a statement.
The words struck some as harsh toward Americans who receive benefits under Obamacare, formally known as the Affordable Care Act. The House passed the GOP measure last week that could cost millions their health insurance coverage, raise premiums or deductions or make it more difficult for those with pre-existing conditions to find affordable care.
Republicans defend the bill as one that will reduce costs for many Americans while eliminating taxes and the controversial "individual mandate" requiring every adult to purchase health insurance or pay a penalty. They also point to the diminishing health care options under Obamacare in some parts of the country.
The Utah Health Policy Project tweeted that perhaps Hatch was referring to the $250 billion tax write-off that companies take annually for their employer-sponsored health insurance.
That's 2.5 trillion dimes, the group noted.
Matt Slonaker, executive director of the project, said it was interesting Hatch would link the government "dole" to the subsidies Americans receive to get health care, either through their employer, on the Obamacare marketplace or through programs like Medicaid.
"A lot of these Utahns [on Obamacare] don't think of themselves on the dole, nor do the people on the company subsidized insurance," Slonaker said. "A lot of people in Utah who are benefiting from the Affordable Care Act will definitely take those words as offensive. All they're trying to do is provide health care for their families."
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., also criticized Hatch's comments.
"People who are getting access to health care are not on the dole," Murray told reporters. "They are working families. They, by circumstances most of us hope we don't get into, have a very seriously ill child or spouse. This is America. Certainly, we don't call people who need health care people who are on the dole."