North Carolina Senate Nominee: Cal Cunningham, North Carolinians Who Rely on Affordable Care Act Highlight Sen. Tillis' Health Care Failure

RALEIGH, North Carolina, Sept. 25 -- 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 on Sept. 24:

This morning, Cal Cunningham hosted a Zoom press call with North Carolinians who rely on the Affordable Care Act to discuss the importance of protecting the law and its protections for North Carolinians with pre-existing conditions. As President Trump returns to North Carolina to discuss health care today, Cal highlighted the GOP-led lawsuit backed by Senator Thom Tillis and Trump to dismantle the health law.

During the event, Cal said: "In this campaign, I've talked about and advocated for strengthening the Affordable Care Act, protecting those with pre-existing conditions, working to lower the cost of prescription drugs through efforts like allowing Medicare to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies, the expansion of Medicaid. From Raleigh to Washington, we've gotten the opposite out of Senator Tillis. He's worked to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, take away those protections, and at the end of the day, he just doesn't have a plan. That's not what North Carolinians expect, that's not the right answer."

In Tuesday night's Senate debate, Tillis failed to explain what he would do to expand health care coverage to North Carolinians, which came as no surprise given his repeated efforts to deny North Carolinians care:

* Tillis blocked Medicaid expansion as Speaker of the House and later bragged (https://twitter.com/TimBoyumTV/status/1144341898955567123) about it.

* Tillis voted 15 times to partially or fully repeal the Affordable Care Act.

* Tillis has stood behind the reckless lawsuit that threatens to dismantle the entire law and has pledged support to the president's SCOTUS nominee, including those nominees who have already publicly expressed support for overturning the Affordable Care Act in full.

Cal was joined by Bev Veals, a three-time cancer survivor from Carolina Beach who reached out to Senator Tillis' office to express concerns with health care coverage after her husband was furloughed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was dismissed by Tillis' office. Bev shared her struggles navigating the health insurance system and how the Affordable Care Act allowed her to fight her cancer with dignity.

"Cancer doesn't stop and say 'OK Thom Tillis, we're going to wait for you to get your stuff together before we strike this person.' That's not what cancer does. Cancer needs to be addressed immediately and on the spot," said Veals. "People who are going through these types of diagnoses and issues don't have time for the Republican Party to decide they might be coming up with a plan. I think that Cal in Washington, D.C. will fight for me. He'll fight for me. He'll fight for my husband. He'll fight for my family."

Susie Evans, a mother of two daughters with pre-existing conditions, shared how the Affordable Care Act prevents families like hers from going bankrupt, saying: "If you don't have a pre-existing condition, you most likely love somebody who does. If you don't love somebody who does, remember you are only one diagnosis away from that."