Dress Shirt Debacle: Tillis Office’s Insensitive Treatment of Cancer Survivor Earns Local, National

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

September 12, 2020

Dress Shirt Debacle: Tillis Office’s Insensitive Treatment of Cancer Survivor Earns Local, National Ridicule

Raleigh, N.C. - Senator Thom Tillis has earned local and national ridicule for the callous way his office treated three-time cancer survivor Bev Veals, a story first broken by Raleigh’s WRAL on Tuesday evening.

Veals and her husband are at risk of losing their insurance because of pandemic-related job loss, and Veals is at high risk for coronavirus. When she called Tillis’ office for help, a staffer dismissed her concerns and compared affording health care to buying a dress shirt, telling her “if I can’t afford that dress shirt, I don’t get to get it.”

The story quickly gained traction nationally and across in North Carolina.

WATCH NORTH CAROLINA TV COVERAGE

MSNBC: GOP senator's office snubs cancer survivor in need of health aid

HuffPost: Sen. Thom Tillis Staffer Sums Up The GOP Stance On Health Insurance: Like Buying A Shirt

Washington Post: The oft-forgotten key issue in 2020

Salon: Thom Tillis staffer tells cancer survivor that people only deserve health care if they can afford it

Business Insider: Republican Sen. Thom Tillis' office is forced to apologize after a staffer told a cancer survivor 'you don't get to have' healthcare if you can't afford it

Newsweek: GOP Senator's Staffer Tells Cancer Survivor Who Can't Afford Health Insurance to 'Figure it Out'

Daily Beast: GOP Senator’s Staffer to Cancer Survivor: You Don’t Get Health Care if You Can’t Afford It

New Republic: Health Care in America Is Exactly Like a “New Dress Shirt”

Slate: Thom Tillis Staffer Tells a Cancer Survivor to Not Get Health Coverage if She Can’t Afford It

Mediaite: Thom Tillis Staffer Caught on Tape Telling Cancer Survivor Who Lost Insurance Due to Covid Lockdowns to ‘Figure it Out’

Jezebel: Republican Senate Staffer Tells Cancer Survivor That If She Can't Afford Health Care, She's On Her Own, Figure It Out

Wonkette: Thom Tillis Staffer Helpfully Suggests Woman With Cancer Go Naked Or Something? Unclear.

Washington Examiner: 'Figure it out': GOP senator apologizes after staffer rebuffs cancer survivor's healthcare concerns

The Independent: ‘Figure it out’: Vulnerable GOP senator apologises after staffer snaps at three-time cancer survivor over health care

Common Dreams: Saying 'Underlying Premise' of For-Profit System Out Loud, GOP Staffer Punished for Telling Constituent People Don't Deserve Healthcare They Can't Afford

DailyKos: NC-Sen: Tillis (R) Staffer Tells Cancer Survivor Who Lost Her Health Care To "Figure It Out" Herself

Crooks & Liars: Thom Tillis Staffer Compares Health Care Access To Clothes Shopping When Constituent Pleads For Help

Alternet: GOP senator apologizes after a staffer is caught on tape saying what Republicans actually believe on health care

Towleroad: Staffer for Sen. Thom Tillis Tells Cancer Survivor Struggling to Afford Health Care That it’s Like Expensive Clothing: ‘If I Can’t Afford That Dress Shirt, I Don’t Get to Get It’

Heavy.com: Bev Veals: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Patch NC: Sen. Tillis' Office Under Fire For Comments To Cancer Survivor

Progressive Pulse: Senator Tillis needs to hire some human beings to work in his office

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