I will see the dentist later this afternoon. I’m just one among many people who have a problem with the cost. A friend of mine Gary has high dental bills. Another friend of mine Joseph who is from The Czech Republic always goes to Tijuana to visit a dentist. The vacant building at 3rd Ave. and F used to be a dentist. I went there about a decade ago. A large clinic with a receptionist who kept lots of records. A room for x-rays. Two rooms for the dentist to examine patients. They told me after taking x-rays that I needed two crowns.

Each crown would cost $800. I went to Tijuana instead. The dentist took x-rays himself. It was him and a part time receptionist in a much smaller office.

The dentist told me that I had two cavities. He charged me $140 to take care of it.

Four US states border Mexico. Many Americans from those states go to Mexico for medical and dental care. There are some who have major surgery there which is reliable in the hospitals and costs less. At least a few US citizens also go there for cancer treatments which have not been approved here. If you see a doctor here there is practically an assembly line where physicians see patients for 15 or twenty minutes with you. The examinations south of the border are more thorough. It is also possible to obtain prescriptions at a pharmacy quickly for a reasonable price. The problem returning from Tijuana is the long lines. Only a helicopter could do it rapidly.

I worked for the Metropolitan Transit System for over 28 years. The medical care was excellent with Kaiser. The co-payments were very reasonable. However dental coverage was not included. Sometimes on tv a commentator or a politician may remark that when people will lose the excellent health care they already have if the Democrat win in 2020. I was with a large employer. People with a smaller business now have fairly good care with the Affordable Care Act, or health with a modest sized business which means there are higher co-pays and premiums. Even if the Democrats win the government does nothing quickly. It will take years to phase in a new system. Bernie Sanders says that dental, optical, and hearing aids will be included. When you here an enormous figure about the trillions of dollars needed, remember to divide the figure by ten. They usually give you the information for a decade. And also recall which party is on the side of science, and the environment, and long forgotten infrastructure spending. How often is there a train crash, accidents that would not have happened if a road or bridge repaired. Good government is expensive. Don’t go for the side with short cuts, no regulations, and clean, beautiful coal.

And who was in charge after big tax cuts in 2008?

Deuel Woodward resides in Chula Vista.