Freedom Caucus Criticized for Voting Against Bill to Help Cancer Treatments

The seven members of the Freedom Caucus are under fire for voting against HB 393, which would require insurance companies to provide scalp cooling systems for chemotherapy patients.

Delegates Matt Morgan, Delegate Kathy Szeliga. Delegate Brian Chisholm. Delegate Lauren Arikan, Delegate Robin Grammer and Delegate Mark Fisher voted no on the bill. All other Republicans and every Democrat voted for the bill.

The Freedom Caucus doesn’t like government mandates and that’s probably why they voted against the bill, but they faced heavy criticism for some cancer patients.

One person tagged all seven members on their social media page and other commenters echoed the criticism.

“The 7 who voted against Cancer patients. The 7 who couldn’t put their own pride and party aside.
Shame on you. I had your back. This was an easy vote,” the person wrote.

“Regardless, we won and your selfish egos lost. Best of luck in the next election. I will be campaigning against you ‘Freedom Caucus’.”

Chisholm did respond and said he regrets voting against the bill.

“I am sincerely sorry to all of you I may have offended on this post and vote. I can give you what I believed to be rational thinking but, in the end, I unintentionally hurt many of you and I’m truly sorry,”  Chisholm said.

“If I had a do over, I’d vote yes and plan to when the Senate Bill comes to the house side.”