Frelinghuysen Had Millions In Health Care Stocks; Voted For Trumpcare: Report

More than three dozen lawmakers who voted in favor of the revamped American Health Care Act (AHCA), the proposed Republican replacement for Obamacare, have held millions of dollars in healthcare-related investments, according to a recent report.

A Daily Beast review found that when the vote on the AHCA was held earlier this month, 40 Republican Congress members owned or previously owned shares in health care companies valued at $23 million and earned more than $2 million off those investments, the publication stated Wednesday.

The named representatives included Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (District 11), the chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations, who had “at least $2.2 million” in healthcare stocks, according to the Daily Beast.

• See related article: Frelinghuysen Votes Yes On Revised Health Care Bill
• See related article: Frelinghuysen Faces Probe After Allegedly Targeting Activist

Another congressman from New Jersey named in the report, Rep. Thomas MacArthur (District 3), allegedly held between $834,000 and $2.3 million in health care stocks in 2015.

A representative for MacArthur told a reporter that the congressman “has divested from all holdings in companies that are affected by his committee appointments.”

MacArthur authored an amendment to the AHCA that allows insurance companies to deny coverage to some people with pre-existing conditions, the Daily Beast stated.

• See related article: Congressman Hammered By Constituents Over Health Care At Town Meeting

Richard Painter, the lead ethics lawyer in George W. Bush’s White House, said that members of Congress aren’t expressly prohibited from owning stocks in individual companies, but added that “folks are supposed to be in Congress to represent their constituents, not maximize their wealth.”

Read the full report here.

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