Must Watch WLOS Story: Cal Cunningham Supports Medicaid Expansion, Sen. Tillis 'Fought Against It'

RALEIGH, North Carolina, Aug. 28 -- Former North Carolina State Sen. James Calvin "Cal" Cunningham, Democratic nominee for the Senate, and vice president and general counsel to WasteZero Inc., issued the following campaign news:

After bragging about blocking Medicaid expansion as North Carolina Speaker of the House, Senator Thom Tillis continues to struggle to defend his decision which has left 634,000 North Carolinians without health coverage during the coronavirus pandemic. In a recent interview with WLOS, Tillis wavered between trying to explain why he opposed critical health care coverage for North Carolinians and posturing himself as somehow now open to the idea while taking no action to push the legislature to do so. "Now in politics, they call that a flip flop," said Tillis in the interview.

In contrast Cal has always been an outspoken advocate about Medicaid expansion and has repeatedly called for Congress to pass a Medicaid expansion incentive to make sure states like North Carolina receive the 100 percent federal match regardless of when they expand. "We need to make sure that all of our people have quality and affordable health care. That means expanding Medicaid," Cal said in the same interview. Yesterday, Cal echoed Gov. Roy Cooper's call to expand Medicaid in his state budget proposal.

Senator Thom Tillis blocked Medicaid expansion as Speaker of the House, one of the reasons North Carolina remains one of only 12 states that haven't expanded Medicaid. Years later, Tillis bragged about it and continues to defend his decision, leaving 634,000 North Carolinians without health care coverage during a global pandemic.

The interview also highlighted Tillis' efforts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. Tillis voted 15 times to repeal the Affordable Care Act in whole or in part.

Cal Cunningham believes that health care should be available to every North Carolinian, not just the privileged few. In the Senate, he will work to protect and improve the Affordable Care Act by adding a public option and advocating for expanded Medicaid in North Carolina.

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Senator Tillis Blocked Medicaid Expansion As NC Speaker Of The House, Denying Health Care Coverage For Thousands Of North Carolinians

Watch WLOS' Story On Medicaid Expansion HERE(https://wlos.com/news/local/where-do-us-senate-candidates-tillis-and-cunningham-stand-on-medicaid)