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The uninsured? GOP counting on Americans saying 'let them die,' Dem charges

Republicans believe that Americans with insurance are willing to say to those who lack it, "let them die," one Democratic congressman is charging

Republicans believe that Americans with insurance are willing to say to those who lack it, "let them die," one Democratic congressman is charging.

On Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was asked how the GOP would cover the 30 million uninsured Americans estimated to be insured under the Affordable Care Act. "That's not the issue," he replied. Other top Republicans have similarly declined to explain their party's plan for covering the uninsured.

Appearing on PoliticsNation Monday, Nadler said of the GOP:

Their calculation has been from the very beginning of this debate that most Americans have insurance and they don't care abut those who don't. Thirty million Americans is about 10 percent, and they're assuming that the 90 percent of Americans don't care about the 10 percent of Americans. Let them die. Let them die. 42,000 Americans die for lack of health insurance every year. Now the truth is that I don't think the American people are that callous.

Not only have Republicans failed to offer a constructive alternative to the law, but many state-level Republicans are doing everything they can to obstruct its implementation. Many have seized on the Supreme Court's ruling last week that states could not be penalized for failing to expand Medicaid under the law, saying they intend not to do so, even though it amounts to leaving billions of federal dollars on the table.