In the News

By: Joe Davidson; Washington Post Will the United States ever get health care right? Despite the progress made under the Obama administration’s Affordable Care Act, significant health care holes remain, particularly for low-income people. One big hole is the cost of hospitalization for people who should get charity care but don’t. New research by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and

By: Bob Kinzel; Vermont Public Sen. Bernie Sanders is urging his colleagues to support a major humanitarian aid package for the more than two million Palestinians living in Gaza. Speaking on the Senate floor, Sanders strongly condemned the recent terrorist attacks launched by Hamas against Israel and said the Israeli government had every right to respond. At the same time, Sanders

By: Joseph Choi; The Hill Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), blasted nonprofit hospitals in report issued on Tuesday for charging patients large fees despite the expectation that they provide medical care at free or reduced costs. In his report, Sanders cited the case of a Memphis woman in 2007 who received a

By: Bob Kinzel; Vermont Public Sen. Bernie Sanders says he’s optimistic the Senate will support his new bill addressing the primary care shortage facing the country. Sanders says his top priority as chairman of the Senate health committee is to ensure all Americans have access to affordable health care — and he says this bill would help. The plan would provide community health centers

By: Rachel Roubein; Washington Post Senate HELP Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) plans to hold a hearing probing the business practices of nonprofit hospitals in the coming months following the release of a report by his staff later today accusing the facilities of abusing their tax-exempt status.  The details: The report points to instances documented in several media outlets of nonprofit health systems

By: Bob Kinzel; Vermont Public Senator Bernie Sanders says he’s worried about public backlash if a small group of conservative House Republicans derail efforts to fund the federal government before a weekend deadline. Because Republicans hold a slim majority in the House, Sanders says a handful of the most conservative members can block consideration of a compromise short term budget