Americans cannot wait any longer for universal healthcare | Opinion

At 24, I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. After a battery of tests and tens of thousands in medical costs, I had a diagnosis. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, I was still on my mom‘s health insurance while I waited through a job’s probationary period.

The ACA was a good start, but it didn’t go far enough. Too many people still fall through the cracks and health insurance companies are still in charge of the care we receive. When profit is put over patients, people are put last.

In 2022, I almost died from Crohn’s. I walked into the ER for the third time that year but the doctors looked at me differently. They didn’t know if I would survive. The nurse placed an IV in my arm, then someone came to ask how I was going to pay for it. I didn’t know if I was going to leave that hospital on my own two feet, but at least they got their money.

This is why we cannot wait any longer for Medicare for All. A single payer option will not fix the core problem: a healthcare system run by the ultra-wealthy that squeezes profit out of the literal lives of our people. Thirty-two of the 33 wealthiest nations have universal healthcare but the United States is the only odd one out.

Universal healthcare also saves money: a minimum $550B annually. It will reduce our national debt. It will revitalize small town and rural Kentucky, allowing people to open small businesses without fear of not having healthcare. It will improve healthcare access, regardless of ZIP code. It will also take time, so we must start now. Otherwise we are doomed to repeat this same cycle that leaves Kentuckians in bankruptcy or even worse, without the vital care they need.

We must demand better. Stop electing officials who are apologists for the corporate system that was only created to enrich the wealthy and their stockholders. If they will settle for less for your healthcare, what else will they sell you out for? It’s also the reason I’m the only candidate in my race who has demanded a full data center moratorium. We must elect representatives who will not negotiate with ourselves before we even get to the negotiating table with the other side.

I will never negotiate against you, Kentucky. I will always insist on the highest standards, put Kentucky over donors, billionaires, and corporate profits. Your lives are too important to put corporate profits over. Kentucky deserves a representative who will never compromise when their literal lives are at stake. Anyone who will accept less does not have your best interests at heart.

I never thought I would run for Congress. I thought that was something reserved for the elite, wealthy, well-connected. But when I didn’t see the kind of leadership I could trust running to represent us in Washington, I stepped up. I am an unapologetic progressive Democrat. I fight for the people of Kentucky, not my billionaire donors, special interests, or politicians of the past. I fight for you.

If you’re tired of politicians who only answer to the wealthy, negotiate against the best interests of their people, and don’t stand firmly for the best solutions for their people, then I ask for your vote on May 19.

Erin Petrey is a Democratic candidate for Kentucky’s Sixth District in the U.S. House.