Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging

The Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging is chaired by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). The subcommittee is part of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Sen. Sanders’ subcommittee activities include work on: community health centers; access to medical, dental, and mental health care; the primary care provider workforce; social services for seniors and the Older Americans Act; preventing and addressing elder abuse; health disparities and economic inequality; and other health and aging policy issues.

Investigations

Congress Investigating Why Generic Drug Prices Are Skyrocketing
Is Poverty a Death Sentence? The Great Divide: Life in McDowell County
The Effects of Medicaid Expansion: One Border, Two Cities and a World of Difference on Health Care
The Effects of Medicaid Expansion: Across the State Line
 

Press Releases

Drugmakers Mum on Huge Price Hikes
Sanders, Cummings to HHS: Act Now on ‘Staggering’ Generic Drug Price Increases
Sanders Investigating Drug Prices
Congress Investigating Why Generic Drug Prices Are Skyrocketing
Sanders Applauds Community Health Center Expansion
Medical Mistakes are 3rd Leading Cause of Death in U.S.
Primary Care Crisis in America
What the U.S. Health Care System Can Learn from Other Countries
Dying Young in America
Sanders Hails Dramatic Expansion of Community Health Centers in Vermont
Senate Panel Advances Older Americans Act
Health Care Law Will Save Lives
Sanders, Cummings Introduce Bills to Address Dental Crisis
Dental Crisis in America
Senate Panel Puts Spotlight on Older Americans

More Press Releases

 

Legislation

Medicaid Generic Drug Price Fairness Act
Teaching Health Center Reauthorization Act
Older Americans Act Amendments of 2013
Comprehensive Dental Reform Act of 2013
Expanding Primary Care Access and Workforce Act

Reports

Single Payer

Many Americans receive the best health care in the world, including state-of-the-art screenings, cutting edge treatments and life-saving drugs. At the same time, millions of Americans have little or no access to even the most basic health care services. While the U.S. spends nearly twice as much on health care as any other country in the world, our health outcomes are worse than other high-income countries. This report highlights elements of high performing single-payer health care systems that are easier to access, navigate and afford than health care in the United States.

 

Is Poverty a Death Sentence?

For the first time in our nation’s history, children born in some parts of the country are expected to live shorter lives than their parents’ generation. This report highlights research on the devastating long-term effects of poverty on health and life expectancy.

 

Dental Crisis

Many people in the U.S. have access to the best oral health care in the world, yet millions are unable to get even the basic dental care they need. This report highlights the shortage of dental providers, insufficient dental insurance coverage, and costs of untreated oral health problems and offers potential solutions for increasing access to affordable dental services.

 

Senior Hunger

No senior citizen should go hungry in the U.S. Unfortunately, hunger among the nation’s senior population is a growing crisis—hunger rates have more than doubled for poor older adults in recent years. This report finds that while Older Americans Act meals programs are critical to alleviating senior hunger, these programs do not have the funding to meet the growing need across the country.

 

Seniors Update 2013

These are tough times for many seniors in Vermont and throughout the country. With 46.5 million Americans living in poverty, more than at any time in the history of our country, poverty among seniors is also rising – especially for the very poor. Incredibly, 20 percent of seniors in this country are living on an average income of $7,500 a year. As we continue in the midst of the most significant economic decline since the 1930s, with an aging population and with more and more income and wealth inequality, we must not turn our backs on older Americans.

 

Primary Care

Nearly 57 million people in the U.S. – one in five Americans – live in areas where they do not have adequate access to primary health care due to a shortage of providers in their communities. 52,000 primary care physicians will be needed by 2025. This report highlights several reasons why the primary care shortage is growing and presents several policy solutions to address this crisis.

 

Latest Hearing

Generic Drug Prices Skyrocket

Sharp increases in prices for many generic drugs were examined at a Senate hearing where three pharmaceutical companies refused to testify. Generic drugs, copies of drugs no longer protected by patents, historically have cost much less than brand-name prescription medicines. During that period, nearly 10 percent of all generic drugs more than doubled in price, according to the analysis of data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Read more »

In the News

The New York Times Lawmakers Look for Ways to Provide Relief for Rising Cost of Generic Drugs
11/24/14 The Wall Street Journal Should Generic Drug Makers Pay Medicaid Rebates Tied to Inflation?
Chicago Tribune Generic Drug Prices Skyrocket in Past Year
Los Angeles Times What's behind the huge price jump for some generic drugs?
The Wall Street Journal Senate Lawmaker Eyes Hearing on the Cost of Hepatitis C Treatments
The New York Times Officials Question the Rising Costs of Generic Drugs
The Huffington Post Why Not the Older Americans Act?
NY Daily News When Health Care Kills
ProPublica We’re Still Not Tracking Patient Harm
Kaiser Health News Single-Payer Advocates Hit Capitol With New Sense Of Reality
Los Angeles Times Watch an Expert Teach a Smug U.S. Senator about Canadian Healthcare
The Nation Inequality is (Literally) Killing America
Vermont Public Radio Three Community Health Centers To Open
The Nation Will a Safety Net for Seniors Win Bipartisan Support?

Videos