Rep. Castro Shares Experience with High Medical Expenses

Amid calls for widespread healthcare reform, Texas Representative Joaquin Castro (D) shared his experience with high medical expenses.

In a tweet, Rep. Castro detailed the amount he spent on a recent surgery.

“12 days, $126k That was the cost for surgery prep, surgery and ten days in the hospital. It’s easy to see how that could bankrupt someone without insurance or without enough insurance. With very good insurance I got billed several thousand dollars.”

Earlier this year, the Texas lawmaker underwent surgery to remove gastrointestinal neuroendocrine tumors.

“Last summer, doctors discovered these small, slow-growing, and mostly asymptomatic tumors after a series of tests,” said Rep. Castro.

The Texas representative recounted his intense operation that removed several parts of his organs.

“In late February, I had major surgery to remove some of the cancer. The surgeons took pieces of my colon and small intestine, 44 lymph nodes, appendix and gall bladder. But they opted against liver surgery because there are tumors on both sides, making surgery more risky.”

Recently, Texas Senator John Cornyn (R) questioned medical professionals on the issues in the healthcare system.

“The United States spends 18.4% of our GDP on healthcare,” said Sen. Cornyn.

“The average family spends $22,000 a year on employer-sponsored healthcare plans. And we just have to look at what’s happening to the fiscal health of the federal government to see the consequence of uncontrolled healthcare cost.”

Cornyn went on to say that the healthcare system is really a ‘sick-care system’ and promoted the idea that the U.S. could do more to prevent the bad outcomes that occur due to poor habits.

Speaking of the healthcare system’s problems, Cornyn stated, “It seems to me the complexity is not a bug, it’s a feature of our system, and I don’t think it’s an accident.”

Similar to Rep. Cornyn, Texas Representative Pete Sessions (R) introduced new healthcare legislation, the Health Care Fairness for All Act. The bill also known as H.R. 3129 is intended to reform the health care system.

In a tweet, Rep. Sessions gave a brief recap of what the bill includes.

“My Health Care Fairness for All Act gives Americans more control, lower prices, and less hassle by: Reforming federal health tax subsidies, Offering a tax-advantaged health savings account. Removing barriers between patients and doctors,” said Rep. Sessions.

The Texas lawmaker pointed to the state of the current healthcare system as a problem.

“Our current health care system puts countless American families and individuals in no-win circumstances, forcing high costs and little choice,” said the congressman.

Rep. Sessions’s statement emphasized the need for a better healthcare system.

“The Health Care Fairness for All Act will empower Americans to make effective decisions for themselves and their families while incentivizing private markets to be more innovative and competitive. Our country should have a health care system that reflects its founding principles of freedom and opportunity.”