"Bob Cox, 73, rose and asked the Republican lawmaker why the United States invests heavily in the military to counter external threats but doesn’t make the same commitment to caring for citizens who face internal threats, such as disease and injury".
The answer to that question is simple. Money.
There are huge profits in manufacturing weapons, and in the American healthcare industry.
Republicans take care of their wealthy friends who contribute heavily to their campaigns, so both gain.  The public be damned.