Chapter 461 - 213: Unfinished
Leo opened the file and pointed to its clauses.
"We have the Alliance Trust System, and we have over one hundred thousand workers and their families using it."
"I only need to do one thing: package the purchasing power of those hundred-thousand-plus people."
"I will establish a Pittsburgh Citizen Health Mutual Aid Alliance."
"Then, the city government will step in on behalf of these people to negotiate with the pharmaceutical companies and hospitals."
"I’ll tell them: either you give Pittsburgh a group-buy price, one that’s at least 20% lower than the market rate."
"Or I’ll kick you off our insurance reimbursement list. Or I’ll use my executive power and send the health and fire departments to inspect your hospital’s fire exits every single day."
"This is called volume-based procurement."
"This... Will this even work?" Ethan hesitated. "It sounds like you’re creating a monopoly."
"It *is* a monopoly," Leo admitted frankly. "I’m using a buyer’s monopoly to fight a seller’s monopoly."
"Besides, we have the moral high ground."
"Luigi’s story is the best advertisement."
"Under this kind of public pressure, which pharmaceutical company would dare refuse our demand for lower prices right now?"
Ethan quickly ran through the plan’s feasibility in his mind.
The plan did indeed avoid the risk of immediate financial collapse, while also grounding healthcare reform in a viable commercial model.
"Alright," Ethan sighed. "Let’s say the plan is technically feasible."
"But, Leo, what’s the point?"
Ethan asked the most fundamental question.
"We already have the port and the revitalization plan. We’re busy enough as it is."
"This healthcare plan... other than pissing people off and adding financial pressure, what tangible benefit is there for us?"
"The return on investment is too low."
Leo smiled.
He stood up and walked over to the large map of Pennsylvania on the wall.
"Ethan, you’re only seeing Pittsburgh."
Leo reached out, his finger tracing a path across the map.
Starting from Pittsburgh, he moved west to Beaver County, south to Washington County, and east to Westmoreland County.
"Look at these places."
"These are all Federal congressional districts in Pennsylvania."
"There are seventeen of them in total."
Leo turned around, his gaze burning as he looked at Ethan.
"Do you know what these seventeen seats mean?"
"They mean control of the House of Representatives."
"In Congress right now, the margins between the Democratic and Republican parties are razor-thin. A shift of even three to five seats can decide the fate of a bill."
"And Pennsylvania is the biggest battleground."
"When I was in Washington pushing for that two-billion-US-Dollar bill, every step felt like walking on thin ice."
"I had to beg, I had to make deals, I had to compromise. I never want to experience that feeling of powerlessness again."
Leo walked back to his desk, planting his hands on its surface.
"Now, imagine this."
"What if the Pittsburgh Citizen Health Mutual Aid Alliance succeeds?"
"What if our citizens can actually buy insulin at a cheaper price, can actually afford to get sick?"
"What effect will that have?"
"What will the voters in the surrounding counties think, the ones still suffering from high drug prices?"
"They’ll look at Pittsburgh and ask their own Representatives: Why can Mayor Wallace do it, but you can’t?"
"Why should we keep voting for you, a guy who only speaks for the pharmaceutical companies?"
Leo’s voice was filled with a seductive power.
"At that point, this Pittsburgh model in my hands will no longer be a simple healthcare plan."
"It’s a weapon."
"A tool that can be used to mass-produce Representatives."
"I can use this plan to support candidates who are willing to join our camp."
"I’ll tell them, as long as you listen to me, as long as you join my alliance, I will share this system with you. I will bring this price-slashing magic to your districts."
"With this, they can win."
"And me..."
Leo pointed to himself.
"I will control Pennsylvania’s seventeen seats in the House of Representatives."
Listening to Leo’s vision, Ethan was completely stunned.
He looked at the young man before him, a tingling sensation crawling up his scalp.
He had always thought Leo’s ambition was merely to be a good Mayor, or at most, to run for Senator like Murphy.
But he was wrong.
Leo didn’t care about titles at all.
He cared about control.
What he wanted to do wasn’t just govern a city, but to control those seventeen House seats and build his own power bloc in Washington.
A third force, with the Pittsburgh model at its core, using livelihood issues as its weapon, independent of both the Establishment Faction and the Progressives.
If he actually pulled it off...
The leverage he would hold would be greater than even that of a Party Whip.
Leo said, "In this country, real power isn’t about the seat you occupy. It’s about how many votes you can influence."
"Murphy became a Senator, which is great, but he only has one vote."
"But if I can control Pennsylvania’s House caucus..."
"Then I’ll have earned the right to speak directly with the White House."
"When that time comes, whether it’s Sanders or the bigwigs in the Establishment Faction..."
"They’ll all have to come to Pittsburgh and listen to what I have to say."
Leo looked at Ethan and gave a confident smile.
"So, Ethan."
"This is for expansion."
"Healthcare reform is the best entry point."
"Because everyone is afraid of death, and everyone is afraid of expensive medical care."
"It’s a fundamental need that transcends party lines and race."
"Whoever holds the key to solving this fundamental need holds the souls of the voters."
"Right now, that key is in our hands."
"Do you still think this money isn’t well spent?"
Ethan took a deep breath.
He looked at Leo, the shock in his eyes gradually transforming into a fanatical devotion.
To see opportunity in crisis, to turn a hot potato into a weapon for conquest...
This was a man who could change the world.
"It’s worth it."
Ethan nodded heavily.
"Completely worth it."
"I’ll get on the arrangements right away."
"I’ll have the legal department work through the night to draft the charter for the Citizen Health Mutual Aid Alliance, and I’ll have Marcus start building the interface for the healthcare component of the Alliance Trust System."
"Also, I’ll contact a few local pharmacy chains. We’ll make an example of them first."
Ethan grabbed his coat, brimming with energy.
"Then go."
Leo waved his hand, and Ethan walked out of the office.
’Mr. President,’ Leo said to himself, ’this piece has finally been played.’
Roosevelt’s voice rang out.
"Leo, you’re finally starting to touch upon the issues we discussed at the very beginning."
"Before, you were building roads, ports, creating jobs—that was building the skeleton. But now, you’re reaching for this country’s most sensitive nerve."
"You are trying to fulfill a promise left unkept for nearly a hundred years."
Roosevelt’s voice deepened, carrying a piercing chill.
"This is very dangerous."
"More dangerous than you can imagine."
"The road ahead will only get harder and darker."
"I hope you are prepared."
Listening to this warning, Leo felt an unprecedented sense of peace.
It was the kind of peace that comes from accepting one’s destiny.
"I am prepared."
"Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit."
"Then let me be that grain of wheat."