One of the most important elections of our lifetime is coming up in Georgia on January 5, 2021. It’s the runoff election for two Senate seats, one in which Democrat Reverend Raphael Warnock is running against Republican Kelly Loeffler and the other, in which Democrat Jon Ossoff is running against Republican David Perdue. If the Democratic Senate candidates both win, Democrats would control the Senate and Mitch McConnell would no longer be Senate Majority Leader. If they lose, Mitch McConnell is certain to block critical health legislation from being considered, let alone enacted, and health care costs likely will keep growing in Georgia and the rest of the US.
As it is for virtually all Americans, health care is top of mind for people in Georgia. Georgia is one of the states that chose not to expand Medicaid, so there are 518,000 more uninsured Georgians than there would be had Georgia expanded Medicaid. Of Georgia’s more than 10 million residents, more than three million have low incomes, earning less than $26,000 a year.
The Republican Senate candidates have no plans to help make health care more affordable for Georgians. Kelly Loeffler’s “plan” would allow people to save money to pay for their health care. Huh? Yes, that’s right. Her plan relies on people saving money to pay directly for their health care. In other words, it lets people get the care they can afford to pay for; she appears to have no solution when the cost of care precludes access to care.
What’s Loeffler’s solution to high drug prices in the US? She would like to force other countries to pay higher drug prices. Yep. Since that won’t help Americans, she has no solution whatsoever.
Republican candidate David Perdue’s health care plan is no better. Rural hospitals are closing in Georgia. And, there’s a shortage of health-care workers. But, Perdue wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which provides coverage to more than 460,000 Georgians. With no health reform plan and an ideology that sees no merit in government intervention, it appears that Perdue supports people having the freedom not to be able to afford their health care.
In stark contrast, Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff stands strongly for improving health care in Georgia, with rural health care as his top priority. He also supports expanding Medicaid and ensuring that people with pre-existing conditions can buy health insurance. To address the novel coronavirus pandemic, he wants medical experts to lead the charge to rein in the virus. And, Ossoff supports greater financial and economic support for working families and small businesses.
Democratic candidate Raphael Warnock also is a strong advocate for improving health for Georgians. In addition to expanding Medicaid, improving funding for children’s health and improving rural health, health care affordability is a top priority for Warnock. For this reason, he takes no campaign money from the health insurance industry or from pharmaceutical companies.
Warnock supports strengthening Medicare and the Affordable Care Act and lowering prescription drug costs. He also supports lowering the age of Medicare eligibility.
You can volunteer for Ossoff and Warnock or help support them financially. The New Georgia Project is working hard to register every eligible voter and ensure they get out to vote in this critical election. If you’d like to support its work, please visit its website.
Here’s more from Just Care:
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- Coronavirus: Why aren’t we talking about Medicare for all?
- Joe Biden will build a strong public health infrastructure
- 2020: Comparing your Medicare private options
- Medicare Open Enrollment in 2020
- How to get free or low-cost dental care
