According to her voting record, Rep. Marsha Blackburn has not stood up to protect the 2,718,800 Tennesseans living with a pre-existing condition.
Blackburn’s Words:
“Every Plan That I Have Voted For Includes Pre-Existing Conditions.” "Every plan that I have voted for includes pre-existing conditions, and that was a Republican provision." [Marsha Blackburn, TN Senate Debate, 10/10/18]
While in Reality:
Blackburn Has Voted To Repeal The Affordable Care Act At Least Five Times. Each of these bills would have allowed insurance companies to discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions. Four of the five would have fully repealed the ACA, eliminating protections for 2.7 million Tennesseans if they buy coverage on their own. [HR 2, Roll Call Vote #14, 1/19/11; HCR 34, Roll Call Vote #277, 4/15/11; HR 45, Roll Call Vote #154, 5/16/13; HR 596, Roll Call Vote #58, 2/3/15; HR 1628, Roll Call Vote #256, 5/4/17]
In 2017, Washington Post Fact-Checked A Similar Claim That Pre-existing Condition Protections Were A Republican Idea. Blackburn Received “Four Pinocchios.” “There is no evidence that either of these popular elements of the ACA ‘were Republican provisions,’ as Blackburn claims. In fact, Blackburn is on record as promoting the concept of federally funded ‘high-risk pools’ even on the eve of the House vote for the Democratic bill that included a robust provision to bar insurance companies from refusing to cover preexisting conditions. Similarly, the Obama White House and House Democrats were the prime movers of the under-26 provision. Blackburn earns Four Pinocchios.” [Washington Post, 2/28/17]
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