Rep. Steven Horsford
Freshman Rep. Steven Horsford, (D-NV) has had an eventful first eight months in office, capped by
heart surgery in July. The 40-year-old congressman didn't know he was in danger until congressional doctors diagnosed his enlarged heart, culminating in a six-way bypass surgery last month. Horsford comes out the other side with a revelation.
He said his family would've been able to afford the procedure without congressional health insurance.
Still, he said such high prices are a problem when it comes to good preventive medicine, surgery and follow-up care.
"No person in America should have to go bankrupt because of one surgery or procedure or treatment like this, and it's why we have to make health care work in this country," he said. "We have in Nevada over 300,000 people who are uninsured, and their ability to even access the type of preventive medicine that would allow them to get the care they need is part of why we have to make health care work in America." [...]
"I think it's a pivotal time," he said. "We're talking about the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, what's good about it, what's not. For me, as an example, I now have a pre-existing condition. I cannot be denied insurance because of this open heart surgery, and neither should any other person in America."
Of course, Horsford is a Democrat, so that reaction—no one should have to go through this experience with the threat of bankruptcy hanging over them—is not surprising, as commendable as it is. But you think
this guy would give any thought at all to the people who don't share his good fortune? Yeah, right.