Ross: Health care battle in Congress highlights life or death stakes
May 1, 2019, 7:43 AM | Updated: 9:58 am
(AP)
(AP)
It came near the end of the first-ever hearing on the Medicare-for-All concept. Rep. Mark DeSaulnier of California revealed that he’s under treatment for stage four leukemia.
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“I have a pill in my pocket that I take every day,” he said.
And so for him, calculating the cost of living is easy.
“I took a pill 35 minutes ago that keeps me alive — that costs $400,” he continued. “[Illinois] Senator [Dick] Durbin said to me recently, ‘that’s outrageous.’ I said, ‘not to me, it keeps me alive.’”
$400 a day works out to $146,000 a year, or 83 percent of his salary as a member of the House.
But he can afford it, because in 1994, he won an election in Contra Costa County, a county that offered a public option health care plan.
“I was lucky enough to get elected to be a county supervisor; I chose to take my health care through what was the first county public option, and I’m here alive today because of that.”
And you may ask, why should any other American expect less than what Rep. DeSaulnier gets? And the accountants will answer, “well, because Medicare-for-All could cost $30 trillion over ten years!”
Which is why Congress is likely to punt yet again, meaning that if you’re uninsured, your options are not to get sick, or just get elected to something in Contra Costa County.
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