DCCC Claims About Freitas’ Record on Pre-Existing Conditions Rated As True By Non-Partisan Fact Checkers
Non-partisan fact checkers at Politifact VA have rated the DCCC’s recent ad, which reminds voters of Nick Freitas’ terrible record on health care, special interest ties, and his plan that supports eliminating protections for Virginians with pre-existing conditions as “true.”
“Couldn’t Be,” which began airing in Richmond this week, reminds voters that Freitas is looking out for himself and special interests, even if it means harming Virginians’ health care during a pandemic. Politifact found that his record and statements do reflect Freitas’ support to gut protections for Virginians with pre-existing conditions.
READ POLITIFACT’S FACT CHECK HERE AND BELOW.
Politifact VA: Nick Freitas’ Record on Pre-Existing Conditions
VPM | By Warren Fiske
September 3, 2020
https://vpm.org/news/articles/16223/politifact-va-nick-freitas-record-on-pre-existing-conditions
Speaker: Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
Statement: Nick Freitas “supports a plan letting insurance companies deny coverage for preexisting conditions like asthma or diabetes.”
Date: Aug. 26
Ruling: True
Democrats have launched a TV ad accusing Nick Freitas, the Republican congressional candidate in Virginia’s 7th District, of seeking to undermine insurance protections for people with preexisting conditions.
[…]
What caught our attention was the second part of the sentence, that Freitas “supports a plan letting insurance companies deny coverage for preexisting conditions like asthma or diabetes.” We decided to fact check it.
The DCCC sources its ad claim with a May 2, 2018 newspaper article in The Virginian-Pilot. Fretitas ran unsuccessfully that spring for the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate, and the article was about a debate he had with one of his opponents – E.W. Jackson. One of the topics was the Affordable Care Act, also called “Obamacare,” which mandates a number of health care reforms, including a requirement that insurers provide health coverage for preexisting conditions.
The article quoted Freitas calling Obamacare a “cancer” that will lead to a government-run health care system.
The Democratic Party of Virginia sent us several writings by Freitas expressing scorn for Obamacare. “As your next U.S. Senator, I will lead the fight to repeal Obamacare full-stop,” he wrote on Facebook on June 1, 2018.
Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have long called for abolishing Obamacare while promising to keep its popular guarantee of long-term coverage for preexisting conditions. But they haven’t agreed on a plan. A major issue has been how can they create a free-market healthcare system and still mandate affordable coverage for preexisting conditions.
Obamacare controls health insurance prices, forbidding an insurer from charging anyone more than three times the premium charged to a healthy 21-year-old for the same policy. If Obamacare was repealed without a replacement plan, insurers could choose to curtail or end coverage for preexisting conditions, or steeply raise the price.
Republicans have floated several replacement plans but, as PolitiFact National has written, none protected affordable coverage for preexisting conditions as well as Obamacare.
Some Republicans have favored repealing Obamacare before a replacement is found. That includes Freitas.
“Obamacare is hurting people…and yet progressives demand that we find an alternative to Obamacare before we can repeal it,” he wrote on Facebook on Dec. 13, 2014. “This is a little like someone repeatedly punching you in the face and demanding that you find an alternative activity for their fist before they agree to stop.”
Freitas doesn’t include health care among six issues he addresses on his campaign website. Joe Desilets, Freitas’ campaign manager, told us Freitas still wants to abolish Obamacare. But he said Freitas is dedicated to protecting coverage for preexisting conditions and, contrary to his 2014 statement, wants a replacement plan before the law is repealed.
Desilets said Freitas is not committed to any specific replacement plan to guarantee coverage of preexisting conditions. “Tax credits, a more targeted health care system. There’s a number of ways you can do it,” he said.
In the General Assembly in 2018, Freitas supported the Trump-ordered expansion of short-term, inexpensive health policies that don’t comply with Obamacare and often don’t cover preexisting conditions.
Our ruling
In a TV ad, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee says Freitas “supports a plan letting insurance companies deny coverage for preexisting conditions like asthma or diabetes.”
Freitas has repeatedly called for the abolishing Obamacare, which mandates that long-term health insurance policies cover preexisting conditions. In 2014, he said Obamacare should be repealed even without a replacement plan. In 2018, he voted to significantly expand the duration of short-term insurance plans that don’t have to cover preexisting conditions.
All of these positions open the door for the sale of policies that don’t insure preexisting conditions. They overshadow Freitas’ vague promise this year – made through his campaign manager – to protect such coverage while working to end Obamacare.
We rate the DCCC’s claim True.
Sources
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, TV ad, Aug. 26, 2020.
The Virginian-Pilot, “Virginia’s Republican Senate candidates repeatedly attack Obama, barely mention Kaine,” May 2, 2018.
Email and interview with Grant Fox, communications director for the Democratic Party of Virginia, Aug. 28, 2020.
Email and interview with Joe Desilets, campaign manager for Nick Freitas, Aug. 31, 2020.
Nick Freitas, Facebook posts, June 1, 2018 and Dec. 13, 2014.
PolitiFact, “Preexisting conditions: Does any GOP proposal match the ACA?” Oct. 17, 2018.
KFF, Health-tracking poll, April 2019.
Freitas for Congress, “Issues,” accessed Aug. 31, 2020.
Legislative Information System, SB844, 2018 session.
PolitiFact Virginia, “Rodman misstates Dunnavant’s short-term health insurance bill,” Sept. 20, 2019.
Center for Responsive Politics, “Virginia District 07 Race,” accessed Aug. 31, 2020.
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