Jon Ossoff addresses rural health in southwest Georgia during virtual news conference

Sep. 8--ALBANY -- U.S. Senate candidate Jon Ossoff identified lack of access to health care as well as the high cost of medications and services as two pressing issues facing southwest Georgia.

Pointing to the announced closing of Southwest Regional Medical Center in Cuthbert on Oct. 22, Ossoff said that more investment is needed to address the needs of rural residents.

The area has seen previous closings of area hospitals, including in 1983 in Fort Gaines and Stewart-Webster Hospital in Richland in 2013.

The Randolph County Hospital Authority unanimously voted to close the SRMC hospital in July. The county was hard hit by COVID-19, where there was a major outbreak at a nursing home, and the burden proved too much for the hospital's continued survival.

The three counties that lost hospitals are among the poorest in the state and have low populations.

Speaking during a Monday video conference on southwest Georgia health issues, Ossoff said that expanding Medicaid could help struggling facilities like the one in Cuthbert.

"The closing of rural hospitals in rural Georgia is an ongoing crisis," the Democrat, who is challenging Republican incumbent Sen. David Perdue, said. "(Georgia) officials have refused to expand Medicaid even though it would help hundreds of thousands and help hospitals stay open."

The facility in Randolph County operates a small emergency room and has a 25-bed hospital.

It has about one to three patients hospitalized on a daily basis and less than 15 emergency room visits each day, said Scott Steiner, CEO of the Phoebe Putney Health System in Albany. Phoebe has had a long-term management agreement with the hospital.

"They're closing after many years of trying to make ends meet," Steiner said. "We hate seeing any hospital in a community affected like that."

Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.

Error! There was an error processing your request.

1

81a32bbc-9dd2-11e5-95bf-2373277be90b

Local Newsletter

Get the Local News headlines from the Albany Herald delivered daily to your email inbox.

Please enter a valid email address.

Sign up

Manage your lists

The lack of a nearby hospital means patients are far away from a critical-care facility in an emergency situation, Ossoff said.

"People shouldn't have to drive an hour or two hours to get to the hospital," he said. "Once we get everybody covered by affordable health care -- and we will -- if you're an hour or two hours from a health care facility, that's not good enough."

Ossoff's plan to address health care includes new clinics and hospitals and expanding the U.S. Public Health Service to train doctors and nurses to work in underserved areas.

To address the high cost of prescription medications, Ossoff's plan would address the costs charged by drug makers.

"The cost of prescription drugs and health care is a scandal," he said.

Ossoff's plan calls for expanding Medicaid to cover some 500,000 Georgians who would be eligible for coverage and an affordable public option for those who do not receive health care benefits through an employer.

"We need to make health care more affordable," he said. "The way we do that is expanding Medicaid. We do that by adding a public option. For people on private plans, (we should) strengthen protections."

Ossoff also took a swipe at his opponent for a television ad he said was pulled from the air after weeks because a fact-checking organization said it made a false claim about covering pre-existing conditions and at the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"He (Perdue) should come out and explain himself (for) misleading the people of Georgia," the Democratic challenger said.

"We need all levels of government moving in the same direction" for the pandemic. "It's not mysterious how we ought to respond when there's a deadly outbreak like this. Responding to a public health emergency is just a basic job of government. It doesn't have to be this way; it didn't have to be this way."

___

(c)2020 The Albany Herald, Ga.

Visit The Albany Herald, Ga. at www.albanyherald.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.