I hope you can swallow the truth.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D - OH) said in a press release on Friday that he has settled his law suit against a Capitol Hill cafeteria after he damaged a tooth on an olive pit while biting into a sandwich wrap they served.
Okay, now that we've laughed at all the jokes and made all the snide comments about Rep. Kucinich, can we discuss serious facts?
Here are some facts for you to chew on (pun intended):
Fact: Untreated dental problems can kill.
Fact: The federal government employee medical plans (which Rep. Kucinich would be eligible for) have very poor dental plans. Some people said that since Kucinich got "free" dental under his plan, there was no reason for him to sue. But even if Kucinich had the top shelf plan, which is Blue Cross/Blue Shield, as I understand it, the plan covers very little beyond the occasional checkup and cleaning. The out of pocket costs are still tremendous when major work is done.
Even under the new health care bill, it is not clear that dental will be covered very much, if at all.
Dental hygiene is not taken seriously as a health issue in the United States.
If the company that served the sandwich wrap to Rep. Kucinich was negligent than he had every right to sue for redress.
My only beef with Kucinich on this issue is that he said he will not discuss it any more. I think that is a mistake. I think he should use his medical problem to highlight just how small a portion dental is on our national health care plate.
So, eat that.