Gerry Purcell Announces Campaign For Georgia Insurance Commissioner
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Gerry Purcell of Alpharetta, Georgia announced today that he is running for the office of Georgia Insurance Commissioner. The office will be open in 2010 as the Republican incumbent, John Oxendine, is running for Governor.
Purcell is nationally known for his advocacy of health care transparency. Having worked over the years to help both employer and government plans save millions of dollars on health care and pharmacy costs, Purcell is a fierce advocate for restoring and protecting the patient and provider relationship, for Georgians having broad access to health insurance options, and for protecting the privacy rights of consumers.
“As massive health care and health insurance changes are being forced upon us from Washington, D.C., Georgians should have a free market champion who knows health care inside and out, someone who can effectively articulate free market solutions and who will fight vigorously to protect access, choice, and privacy,” said Purcell. “We need to make some changes; however, nationalizing health care would be a disaster. That’s NOT the kind of change we need! It would lower the quality of care, restrict choice and create a scarcity model, while quickly becoming financially unsustainable.”
Purcell went on to say, “Consumer protection and the regulation of health insurance are among the most important duties of the Office of Insurance Commissioner. I entered into health care mainly because, as a cancer survivor, I saw first hand the life and death importance of access to quality health care. It’s a calling for me, and I will wake up every day trying to improve the affordability and the access to quality health care for all Georgians, as well as improve all of our insurance markets.”
Gerry Purcell has statewide support from the provider community and especially from hundreds of local community pharmacists and business owners.
“There are few people in the United States who better understand and who can better articulate the need for free market reforms in health care than Gerry Purcell,” said Bill Bennett, president of Worksite RX. “He is an inspiring speaker who can take complex health and insurance issues and present them in an understandable way. Gerry will be a superb Insurance Commissioner.”
“I have known Gerry for many years. He was one of the early pioneers of health care transparency, before it was popular, and is one of its most effective spokesmen,” said Martin Hadelman, President of Hadelman & Associates. “He is a leader of unquestionable integrity, has a consuming passion to help people, and he gets things done with excellence.”
Former GE Money Manger, Rob O’Neal has signed on as Campaign Manager. “Gerry Purcell is exactly the type of new leader Georgia needs right now. He is an outstanding speaker and advocate, he can build consensus, and he as the courage of convictions to fight the good fight,” said O’Neal.
Purcell is a native of Northeast, Georgia and resides with his wife, Julianne, in Alpharetta. He attended Truett-McConnell in Cleveland, Georgia and later graduated on an ROTC scholarship as a Distinguished Military Graduate from Chaminade University of Honolulu. He is a decorated Army Military Intelligence Officer and a winner of the prestigious General George C. Marshall Leadership Award, recognized as one of the top military science cadets in the nation. He received an early jump start in leadership at age 17, being elected as the Georgia President of the 12,000 member Vocational Industrial Clubs of America (VICA), now SkillsUSA, and later as National President of the 300,000-member organization.
For interviews, contact:
Rob O’Neal, Campaign Manager
rob@gerrypurcell.com
(404) 428 – 6076
www.gerrypurcell.com