Labrador responds to backlash over health care answer

U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador says his answer to a question on health care at a recent town hall in northern Idaho wasn’t very elegant.

Labrador has received criticism for saying that no one has died because they didn’t have access to health care – a claim disputed by health care officials and medical experts.

The Republican congressman was responding to a question during a town hall in Lewiston on Friday.

In his statement released Saturday, Labrador said he rejects the argument that the Republican health care plan recently passed by the House will cause people to die.

He also criticized the media for not focusing on his entire response to the question, adding that hospitals are still required to treat people in need of emergency care regardless if they can pay.