Steve Scalise: ‘I would not be here today without the greatest healthcare system on the face of the planet’

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise drew on his personal experience with the healthcare system in decrying a potential government takeover of the industry.

“I would not be here today without the greatest healthcare system on the face of the planet,” Scalise told a crowd of thousands at the Conservative Political Action Conference at National Harbor, Maryland, on Thursday.

Scalise, a Republican from Louisiana, was injured in 2017 when a gunman opened fire on a practice for the Congressional Baseball Game in Alexandria, Virginia. He underwent surgery after a bullet fractured his pelvis and pierced internal organs. Scalise remained in intensive care for several weeks and used a walker in the months that followed.

Scalise later called it a “miracle” he survived the incident.

Most members of Congress get their healthcare through the Washington, D.C., exchange, known as DC Health Link, which has a reputation of being reliable and well-managed, according to CNN.

Scalise is one President Trump’s most ardent defenders in Congress and has argued that “Medicare for all,” a proposal endorsed by several Democratic candidates for president, will be rejected by the public.