A Republican running for Congress in one of the nation’s most competitive districts claimed that Americans “don’t die from prostate cancer, breast cancer” in order to justify his opposition to health care reform.

Chris Collins, the GOP nominee opposing Rep. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) in New York’s 27th congressional district, gave a wide-ranging interview to The Batavian late last month. The New York Republican said he opposed Obamacare, claiming that the situation in America is not nearly as dire as some might think:

Collins also argued that modern healthcare is expensive for a reason.

“People now don’t die from prostate cancer, breast cancer and some of the other things,” Collins said. “The fact of the matter is, our healthcare today is so much better, we’re living so much longer, because of innovations in drug development, surgical procedures, stents, implantable cardiac defibrillators, neural stimulators—they didn’t exist 10 years ago. The increase in cost is not because doctors are making a lot more money. It’s what you can get for healthcare, extending your life and curing diseases.”