 I know that when I talk about the need for Medicare for all, I'm basically preaching to the choir because you all know that Medicare for all is an absolute necessity. But I really do think it's important to share the stories that really illustrate how messed up our healthcare system is. And this story that I came across in the New York Post, it really just hit a nerve with me because it was just so tragic, it was so sad. So this is from Hannah Frischberg of the New York Post to explains when Josh Wilkerson turned 26, he aged out of his stepfather's private health insurance and he was unable to afford his nearly $1,200 a month insulin. He began rationing his pricey prescription brand before a doctor recommended taking Relyon, an over-the-counter brand sold for $25 a vial at Walmart. It didn't work for his body, his mom, Erin Wilson-Weaver tells the Post. Her son died June 14th and she's still in mourning, but determined to advocate in his memory. Known as human insulin, Relyon requires more time to become effective than the analog insulin that Wilkerson had previously been taking. But at one-tenth of the price, it was more affordable for the Northern Virginia dog kennel supervisor who was earning $16.50 an hour. When it comes to type 1 diabetes, people are facing unthinkable decisions. Between the cost of living and their very lives, Wilson-Weaver writes in a post for a diabetes advocacy blog full of similar posts about those lost to type 1 diabetes after being unable to afford insulin. We figured, hey, it's $25, we can do that and we'll just work with it and try to do the best we can. Wilkerson's fiance, Rose Walters, 27, tells the Washington Post. Walters, also a type 1 diabetic, began using the cheaper insulin as well last winter. The pair also had to switch to an over-the-counter brand for their blood glucose meters to keep medical prices within their budget. The couple, among the 30 million U.S. residents living with diabetes, planned for a rustic barnhouse wedding in October and hoped to save money for it with the more affordable, if less effective, medication. I mean, this story right here doesn't tell you how dysfunctional our healthcare and pharma care system is, then what will? They were trying to save money for their wedding. So he opted for a cheaper insulin and he ended up dying. What a heartbreaking story. And think about that. He was making $1650, that's a living wage. Still, obviously couldn't afford $1,200 every single month for insulin. And why is it that even if you can afford it, you have to pay that? Because people who don't have diabetes, who don't need insulin, don't have to pay that. So why? Because of something you can't control, should you be in the hole $1,200 every single month? It's unthinkable. So this was just such a heartbreaking story to read. And I just thought, how, how can you read stories like this and not be outraged, not want to take action? I mean, if you're a Republican lawmaker, how can you continue to turn a blind eye as people are cutting pills? Because they can't afford prescription drug prices. I mean, at what point do lawmakers say, let's do something just because I'm a human being and I want to minimize human suffering as much as possible? I don't, I just, I don't get it. I don't get it. There are so many cold people in Congress who just couldn't care less about stories like this. I mean, you saw in Nevada, fourth congressional district, Amy Valela, her daughter died because we don't have Medicare for All. So she challenged the lawmaker who wouldn't cosponsor Medicare for All legislation. She ultimately lost to someone else who is now talking about how we shouldn't do Medicare for All, Stephen Horsford. When are people going to make the moral choice that we are not going to allow private insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies to dictate what goes on in our country? When are we going to stand up once and for all and say, you don't get to rip people off? I mean, this is killing people. And it's not like these stories are so like far-fetched. Everyone knows someone who's dealing with it. Everyone knows someone. We all know someone who had to do a GoFundMe to pay for a medical bill. I just had to do a GoFundMe for my niece. We did this a couple of months ago because she had a baby and she has insurance. But her baby was in the NICU for, I want to say, two months and they had to worry about medical bills that were piling up. They had to worry about leaving work and whatnot, her and her partner. My friend Savage Joy of Real Progressives had to do a GoFundMe because she has insurance but she's fighting with her insurance. I mean, at what point do we stop the madness? This is fucking insane. I mean, I just, I don't know what to say, right? If you've watched any progressive YouTube show, Secular Talk, the Rational National, we've all said it. We've all said we need Medicare for All. So I mean, what else do we say at this point? Our system is insane. People who need insulin should never have to worry about getting it. And I feel like the reason why this hit so close to home is because just this year my nephew was diagnosed. With diabetes and he requires insulin. And now I'm very, very aware of the cost of insulin, you know, because it affects someone in my, in my life very personally. And I was already aware of it, but you know, this can happen to anyone. So we need to make sure that we protect people. We use our tax dollars to stop murdering people in the Middle East and North Africa. And we actually put that money back into our country, back into our communities to make sure that these types of things don't happen. Like, I never want to hear a story about how someone died because they didn't have health insurance or, you know, they couldn't afford their prescription drugs. Or, you know, I don't want to hear a story about how somebody had insurance, but they still couldn't pay for their deductible.