Issue Position: Health Care

Issue Position

With more than 46 million Americans without health coverage it is clear that we need major changes to our country's health care system. Senator Sanders was the first member of Congress to take his constituents across the Canadian border to buy their prescription drugs at a fraction of the price they were forced to pay in the United States. He is one of the national leaders opposing the pharmaceutical industry's powerful lobby that spent more than 900 million dollars during the past decade trying to influence Congress to keep drug prices high. While a member of the House of Representatives, he was the author of major "re-importation" legislation which, if passed, would have lowered the cost of medicine in this country by 30-50 percent and would have laid the groundwork for a strong prescription drug benefit under Medicare.

While the Bush Administration and their drug company allies continue to oppose any efforts to lower the cost of medicine in this country, Sanders will continue his fight in the Senate for lower cost drugs and will support legislation that will allow re-importation and enable Medicare to negotiate lower prices for Medicare beneficiaries. Sanders is a strong advocate of single payer health insurance program administered at the state level. He is also working to increase the number of primary care physicians, dentists, and nurses being trained ensure to make sure that all Americans.

Finally, Senator Sanders has been a leader in Vermont and in the Senate in championing the expansion of Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). FQHCs are community-based, non-profit organizations that provide quality medical care, dental care, and mental health services, and prescription drugs on a sliding scale basis.

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