WASHINGTON, May 16 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today announced he will hold a press conference Monday with health care, business and community leaders to discuss the crisis in Vermont’s health care system and call for immediate action.
As independent health care providers, nonprofit insurers, federally qualified health centers and rural hospitals in Vermont struggle to stay afloat, Congressional Republicans and the President are seeking massive cuts to Medicaid and tax credits that lower premiums that could devastate Vermont and the nation.
“It is no secret that Vermont’s health care system is in crisis. While Vermont is not alone in these struggles, the sad reality is that our state is struggling more than most,” said Sanders. “Unfortunately, the federal government is not coming to fix this crisis. Instead, President Trump and my Republican colleagues in Washington want to make things far worse by slashing Medicaid and tax credits that lower premiums for Vermonters.”
In addition to the threat posed by the president’s “big, beautiful” budget reconciliation bill that cuts Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act by $715 billion, Vermonters’ access to health care is in jeopardy because hospital and drug prices are so high. The state’s population is the second oldest in the country, with fewer and fewer people on commercial insurance. Vermont also ranks 43rd in the nation when it comes to being a nurse, largely because of poor pay and a severe health care worker shortage.
“I commend both the Vermont House and Senate for standing up to small but powerful parts of our health care industry and taking up legislation to address the challenges we face,” continued Sanders. “We must listen to the working families who can no longer afford their health care premium, the small business owners who can no longer afford to provide health care coverage for their workers, and the nurses who are working in understaffed facilities for low wages. We simply cannot delay acting to address this crisis.”
Details:
What: Press conference on Vermont’s health care crisis
When: Monday, May 19, 11:00 a.m. ET
Where: Location provided upon RSVP.
Who:
- Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
- State Sen. Virginia “Ginny” Lyons, Chair of the Vermont Senate Health and Welfare Committee
- State Rep. Alyssa Black, Chair of the Vermont House Health Care Committee
- Owen Foster, Chair of the Green Mountain Care Board
- Lisa Ventriss, Co-Chair of Vermont Health Care 911 and former president of the Vermont Business Roundtable
- Mike Fisher, Chief Health Care Advocate at Vermont Legal Aid
