Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) on Sunday accused Democrats of spreading a "false narrative" that Republicans want to take away health-care protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions, even though the GOP has repeatedly voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
"It’s a false narrative for Democrats to come in and say if you elect Republicans we’re going to take that away. We’re doing everything we can … to make sure we protect pre-existing conditions," Tillis, the vice chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said on "Fox News Sunday."
Tillis cited President Trump's pledge in recent weeks that Republicans will protect coverage for individuals with pre-existing conditions.
The senator also painted the party's repeated efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which ensures coverage for those with pre-existing conditions, as necessary even as Trump and GOP candidates vow to protect such coverage.
"We want to replace the Affordable Care Act with a program that will work," Tillis said. "That will provide people who have pre-existing conditions with health care."
The Trump administration has supported a lawsuit that would overturn the Obama-era health-care law’s protections for people with pre-existing conditions, preventing them from being denied coverage or charged more.
In addition, Fox News anchor Chris Wallace noted that the GOP's plan to replace the Affordable Care Act last year would have put individuals with pre-existing conditions into high-risk pools that would have forced them to potentially pay higher premiums.
Tillis argued that it would not be good policy or good politics to limit protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions, and suggested the need to replace the Affordable Care Act extended to the broader health-care market.
"If we continue down this path, we’re going to have a health-care crisis, not only among those who are serviced by the Affordable Care Act, but the broader health-care market is headed for disaster," Tillis said.
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