One of the biggest concerns many of us have in the times of COVID, layoffs and lost health insurance is how to have access to healthcare after being devastated by the pandemic.
Three-time cancer survivor Bev Veals had that very concern, and she called Senator Thom Tillis' office to express her concern and ask for help. Instead, this is what she got, via WRAL:
"You’re saying that, if you can’t afford it, you don’t get to have it, and that includes health care?" she asked.
"Yeah, just like if I want to go to the store and buy a new dress shirt. If I can’t afford that dress shirt, I don’t get to get it," he replied.
"But health care is something that people need, especially if they have cancer," Veals said.
"Well, you got to find a way to get it," he responded.
When she asked the staffer what she's supposed to do, he said, "Sounds like something you’re going to have to figure it out."
"To compare it to a dress shirt made me incredibly angry and hurt," Veals told WRAL Investigates.
After WRAL reached out to Tillis' office they received a statement saying that the staffer had been "disciplined."
That they wouldn't fire someone with that kind of callous attitude toward the people the Senator represents speaks volumes. If Tillis didn't actually agree with him, he would have fired him. If the story hadn't hit local television, he wouldn't have disciplined him. Thom Tillis believes this. He believes people have to earn their healthcare and he's only sorry Veals' healthcare needs were compared to a dress shirt instead of something even less attainable.
Thom Tillis has an opponent who is currently ahead in NC and could win -- Cal Cunningham. I'm fairly certain that HE wouldn't dismiss a constituent's needs in such a callous fashion.
Watch the video below, via WRAL:
