--- description: Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho) came under fire Friday after he said that "nobody dies" from a lack of health care coverage title: GOP Congressman: 'Nobody Dies Because They Don’t Have Access to Health Care' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte661b7527e6bb6ae/698697883bc99956291a413c/raul-labrador.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Health Care](/tag/health-care/) ## Health Care Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # GOP Congressman Raul Labrador: 'Nobody Dies Because They Don’t Have Access to Health Care' by [Aric Jenkins](/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 6, 2017 8:06 PM CUT  Rep. Raul Labrador of Idaho, is interviewed by Roll Call in his Longworth Building office on February 4, 2014\. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call) Rep. Raul Labrador of Idaho, is interviewed by Roll Call in his Longworth Building office on February 4, 2014\. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)Tom Williams—CQ Roll Call/Getty Images by [Aric Jenkins](/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 6, 2017 8:06 PM CUT Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho) came under fire Friday after he said that “nobody dies” from a lack of [health care coverage](http://time.com/4768740/democrats-health-care-vote/ "undefined") at a town hall at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho. Labrador made the remarks the day after the House [passed a Republican-sponsored health care bill](http://time.com/4768216/health-care-bill-ahca-hillary-clinton-fight-back/ "undefined") that, if passed, would repeal and replace significant parts of Obamacare. The Congressman, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, was replying to an audience member who was speaking on concerns about the bill’s potential impact on Medicaid recipients. “You are mandating people on Medicaid accept dying. You are making a mandate that will kill people,” the audience member said, before Labrador interjected. “No one wants anybody to die,” Labrador said. “You know, that line is so indefensible. Nobody dies because they don’t have access to health care.” His comments prompted an immediate outcry from audience members, who began to audibly boo, according to clips shared on social media. > [](https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/860893649382539267) The backlash carried over to the internet, where a number of users lambasted to Congressman on social platforms like Twitter. The new bill, dubbed the American Health Care Act, is now awaiting a vote in the Senate, where many expect the legislation to face [tough opposition](http://time.com/4769420/ahca-health-care-senate-vote/ "undefined"). It’s not yet clear how many people could stand to lose health insurance under the ACHA, but a 2009 [study published in the American Journal of Public Health](http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2009/09/new-study-finds-45000-deaths-annually-linked-to-lack-of-health-coverage/ "undefined") before Obamacare became law said that 45,000 deaths in the U.S. were linked to a lack of health insurance. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4769830/raul-labrador-gop-congressman-nobody-dies-health-care/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4769830/raul-labrador-gop-congressman-nobody-dies-health-care/"},"headline":"GOP Congressman Raul Labrador: 'Nobody Dies Because They Don’t Have Access to Health Care'","datePublished":"2017-05-06T20:06:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T04:47:22.435Z","description":"A town hall audience immediately booed him","url":"https://time.com/4769830/raul-labrador-gop-congressman-nobody-dies-health-care/","keywords":["Health Care","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte661b7527e6bb6ae/698697883bc99956291a413c/raul-labrador.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Aric Jenkins","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/aric-jenkins/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte661b7527e6bb6ae/698697883bc99956291a413c/raul-labrador.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Raul Labrador","caption":"Raul Labrador","creditText":"Tom Williams—CQ Roll Call/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/health-care/","name":"Health Care"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4769830/raul-labrador-gop-congressman-nobody-dies-health-care/","name":"GOP Congressman Raul Labrador: 'Nobody Dies Because They Don’t Have Access to Health Care'"}}]}] ```