Richmond, VA – On Tuesday, MAGA Senate candidate Hung Cao doubled down on his out-of-touch comment, arguing that no one worries they will die if they don’t have health care.  

On Richmond’s Morning News with John Reid yesterday, Cao doubled down on his extreme comment, saying, “No, what I'm trying to say is just that everybody goes to the emergency room and you'll always be taken care of.”  This isn’t the first time Hung Cao has shown just how wrong he is on health care with Virginians. While on Unleashed with Marc Morano in May, Cao said, “But no one in the United States is like, ‘oh my gosh, I will die if I don't have health care’ because hospitals are required by law to take you in.”  

By arguing that Virginians can just go to the emergency room, Hung Cao is telling Virginians he’s an elitist who doesn’t know the first thing about their health.  

• First of all, delaying a visit to the doctor until you are in an emergency makes that visit more expensive when you could have received treatment earlier. The average cost of an emergency room visit without health insurance is $2,400 and $2,600, and many of these visits are avoidable, especially if more people have access to affordable health care.  
• And second, many rural Virginians do not live close to an emergency room. A 2020 New York Times study found that 325,000 Virginians – including 69,000 Virginia seniors – live outside of a 30-minute drive to the nearest hospital. Nearly three in ten rural hospitals in Virginia are at risk of closing, with Patrick County’s hospital – the only hospital in the county - closure “painful” for the entire community.  
• Additionally, rural Virginians must travel nearly five times as far as urban residents on average to reach hospital care, and Southside has fewer hospitals than other regions of Virginia.

Hung Cao has shown himself to be an elitist many times before. Hung Cao called the Staunton News Leader “podunk” after he didn’t like a story examining how he failed to live up to his word regarding his scam PAC. And he said it would be “ridonkulous” to attend a candidate forum in Abingdon. Cao insulted NATO employees as “lazy,” while the North American headquarters for NATO is headquarters is in Norfolk.  

It’s not just his out-of-touch comments – Hung Cao’s health care agenda is even more out-of-touch with Virginians. He vowed to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which would strip protections for 1.3 million Virginians with pre-existing conditions, increase taxes on hardworking Virginia families, and jeopardize health insurance for nearly 700,000 Virginians. Cao also committed to repealing the Inflation Reduction Act, which would lead to higher prescription drug costs for Virginians.

“Hung Cao is an elitist who just doesn’t get it – having affordable health care is a lifesaver,” said DPVA Chairwoman Susan Swecker. “Maybe if Hung Cao spent more time talking to Virginians, he would know how out-of-touch his MAGA agenda of ripping away health care for people with a pre-existing condition, raising taxes on Virginians, and making prescription drugs more expensive really is.”