This Woman Perfectly Explains Why Men Pay For Maternity Insurance

Some conservative, male lawmakers have complained that men have to pay for prenatal care in their health insurance plans under Obamacare. While that's not entirely accurate, one woman's response to Republican Rep. Rod Blum saying men shouldn't pay for maternity insurance put him in his place.

Blum addressed the Republican healthcare bill he supported in the U.S. House of Representatives at a recent town hall with his Iowa constituents, explaining that he wants to "get rid of some of these crazy regulations that Obamacare puts in." One of those "crazy" regulations, he said, is "a 62-year-old male having to have pregnancy insurance."

First of all, dear Blum, no one gets to pick and choose which specific medical conditions their insurance will cover. And men aren't really paying for prenatal insurance; all insurance plans kick in if the person gets pregnant, just like if they have a heart attack.

Nevertheless, the GOP's American Health Care Act (AHCA) would allow certain states to get rid of essential health benefits, such as maternity care, that all insurance plans have to cover under Obamacare.

The day after Blum's town hall, Barbara Rank, a retired teacher, felt the need to point out exactly why his opinion is flawed.

In a short letter to the local Telegraph Herald, Rank said, "Congressman Rod Blum in a Dubuque town hall (Monday) night asked, 'Why should a 62-year-old man have to pay for maternity care?' I ask, why should I pay for a bridge I don’t cross, a sidewalk I don’t walk on, a library book I don’t read?"

She continued, "Why should I pay for a flower I won’t smell, a park I don’t visit, or art I can’t appreciate? Why should I pay the salaries of politicians I didn’t vote for, a tax cut that doesn’t affect me, or a loophole I can’t take advantage of?"

"It’s called democracy, a civil society, the greater good. That’s what we pay for," she quipped.

Blum wasn't the first Republican in Congress to suggest that men stop paying for maternity coverage, either. During a healthcare debate in the House Energy and Commerce Committee in March, Rep. John Shimkus of Illinois asked, “What about men having to purchase prenatal care? Is that not correct? And should they?”

Hopefully Reps. Blum and Shimkus see Rank's unforgiving rebuttal.