At Second Debate, Tillis Lies About His Health Care Record, Doubles Down on Opposing the ACA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

September 22, 2020

At Second Debate, Tillis Lies About His Health Care Record, Doubles Down on Opposing the ACA

RALEIGH, N.C. - At tonight’s debate, Thom Tillis had no answer when asked what he would do to address the shocking fact that more than 1 million North Carolinians were uninsured before the pandemic, more than almost any other state in the country. Tillis also doubled down on his opposition to the Affordable Care Act, which, if repealed, would cost hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians their health care.

“Tillis has no answer on how he would help the more than one million uninsured North Carolinians because his record on health care is indefensible,” said Piedmont Rising Executive Director Casey Wilkinson. “Tillis has voted seven times to take health care away from more than 600,000 North Carolinians and put protections for 1.7 million North Carolinians with a pre-existing condition at risk. He led the charge to block Medicaid expansion in North Carolina, which would insure another 500,000 people statewide. At every step in his career, Tillis has worked to prevent North Carolinians from getting access to health care and reduce costs. It is why he must be defeated in November.”

Background:

• If the ACA is struck down, an estimated 607,000 North Carolinians would lose coverage, an estimate that has increased by 100,000 since the start of the pandemic

• In total, over 200,000 North Carolinians have lost their health insurance as a result of the coronavirus pandemic

• More than 1.7 million non-elderly North Carolinians, 28 percent of the state, have a pre-existing condition that would allow insurance companies to deny them coverage if the ACA is struck down

• North Carolinians could be forced to pay the full cost of their prescription drugs out-of-pocket if the ACA is repealed

• Tillis has voted at least seven times to repeal the Affordable Care Act in its entirety

• In November, the Supreme Court will consider yet another attempt to wipe out the ACA. Tillis voted for the 2017 legislation that paved the way for this most recent lawsuit, and he is currently working to rush through a nominee that will strike down the ACA

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