Should-Read: Alice Ollstein: @AliceOllstein on Twitter: “I asked Sen. [Pat] Roberts

Should-Read: Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) leaves us in a fog—it is not clear whether he believes the government should define what constitutes a “comprehensive health insurance policy”, if it should define it which level of government should define it, or what, in fact, the right level of benefits for something to qualify as a “comprehensive health insurance policy” should be. Given that his first reaction when the question is raised is that it is unfair for males to be charged some of the premiums to cover medical care for the breasts at which they nursed, I do not think that Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) will be clarifying this any time soon:

Alice Ollstein: @AliceOllstein on Twitter: “I asked Sen. [Pat] Roberts if he supports scrapping Essential Health Benefits. ‘I wouldn’t want to lose my mammograms’, he snarked. #AHCA”

The witty line followed by the rapid backpedaling:

Ashley Killough and Ted Barrett: Sen. Pat Roberts Apologizes: “‘I deeply regret my comments on such an important topic’…

…Roberts said in a statement. “I know several individuals whose lives have been saved by mammograms, and I recognize how essential they are to women’s health. I never intended to indicate otherwise, and I apologize for my comments…”