Op-Ed: Affordable, accessible health care for Middle Georgia

The outrageous cost of health insurance and medicine is a scandal.

Every family has their own horror story.

Few plans are available. Premiums are extremely expensive. And dealing with insurance companies is a nightmare. They look for excuses to deny claims at the moments when we most need help and support. Then we receive surprise medical bills months after a hospital visit. Often we can’t get anyone on the phone to answer questions.

Meanwhile, prescriptions cost a fortune. Medicines that are essential to our survival or our quality of life can cost as much as rent or house payments. It doesn’t have to be this way!

So what is driving these outrageous prices? It’s the political power of the insurance and drug companies.

Here’s the truth: insurance and drug companies exploit our corrupt campaign finance system to buy power in Washington. They purchase the allegiance of lawmakers by handing over corporate PAC checks at lavish closed-door fundraisers. Then those insurance and pharmaceutical lobbyists write the laws so they can rip off the rest of us.

Why do Senators like David Perdue vote against cracking down on price gouging by the drug companies? Why do they vote to let insurance companies deny coverage to Georgians with pre-existing conditions like cancer, diabetes, asthma, or high blood pressure?

Because the lobbyists and corporate PACs for those industries write big checks to their campaigns.

It’s corruption, plain and simple.

This isn’t about political party. It’s about our health and the systemic corruption in American politics.

Fighting corruption is my job. I run a business that investigates corruption, organized crime, and war crimes for news organizations around the world. And to make health care affordable for every Georgia family, we have to overcome corruption in our political system.

That’s why I’m not taking campaign donations from corporate PACs.

In the Senate, I’ll stand up to insurance and pharmaceutical lobbyists and work to make great health insurance a simple, affordable, reassuring reality for all of us. To ensure affordable access to medicine and care, I’ll vote to crack down on price gouging by insurance and drug companies and to protect health insurance coverage for Georgians with pre-existing conditions.

Senator Perdue has voted to repeal those protections, and he voted against cracking down on price gouging by drug companies. I’ll vote to expand Medicaid to sustain our rural hospitals and to expand the Children’s Health Insurance Program so pediatric care is affordable.

And I’ll deliver federal investment in new health clinics, so primary care, urgent care, and mental health care services are convenient and affordable for all.

Washington seems to always find money for war, or bailouts, or giveaways for elite political donors. Surely the health of hardworking Georgia families is a worthy cause.

Finally, I believe Georgians should be able to choose between private health insurance or an affordable nonprofit public option. Your insurance will be your choice — period — and I’ll always defend your right to private or employer-based coverage if that’s your preference.

The solutions aren’t mysterious. It just takes the will and the energy to deliver. I will deliver for Georgia families. Your health will be my highest priority. I wish you and yours a healthy, peaceful, and prosperous rest of this year.

Jon Ossoff is a Georgia native, media executive, investigative journalist, and small business owner running against Sen. David Perdue for one of Georgia’s two senate seats. Jon and his wife Alisha, an OB/GYN physician, both grew up in Atlanta.