Senator Bernie Sanders, the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), issued a statement regarding a bipartisan health care agreement included in the latest minibus funding package announced by congressional leaders.
Sanders outlined several provisions in the agreement aimed at addressing primary care shortages and high prescription drug costs. He stated:
"Over the past several years, one of my top legislative priorities as Chairman, and now Ranking Member, of the Senate HELP Committee has been to address the primary care crisis in America, the massive shortage of doctors, nurses, dentists and mental health professionals in our nation, and to lower the outrageous cost of prescription drugs.
Given the extremely dysfunctional political environment in Congress, I am proud that we were able to reach a bipartisan health care deal to begin to provide meaningful relief to the American people on all of these major crises."
The agreement will increase mandatory funding for community health centers to $4.6 billion through year-end—nearly $1.2 billion more than previously proposed by Republicans. According to Sanders, these centers serve over 32 million Americans.
Funding for the National Health Service Corps will also rise by 13 percent compared to previous years. The new rate is set at $350 million through year-end—$88 million above what Republicans had requested. This program offers loan forgiveness and scholarships for medical professionals working in rural or underserved areas.
Additionally, funding for Teaching Health Centers will grow by 137 percent by 2029, reaching $300 million. These centers allow medical graduates to complete residencies within community settings—a measure Sanders described as key for increasing provider numbers in underserved regions.
The agreement includes expansion of pediatric cancer research via enactment of the Give Kids a Chance Act. It also aims to improve access to generic medications and address practices by pharmacy benefit managers related to prescription drug pricing.
Sanders added:
"Let’s be clear: While this bipartisan health care deal is a very modest step forward, it goes nowhere near far enough.
It does not rescind the largest cut to Medicaid in American history that Republicans in Congress and President Trump made in the summer in order to pay for the $1 trillion in tax breaks they gave to the top 1 percent.
It does not prevent the doubling, tripling or quadrupling of health care premiums that millions of Americans are seeing as a result of the expiration of the Affordable Care Act tax credits.
It does nothing to substantially reform our broken, dysfunctional and cruel health care system that is designed to make the executives and shareholders of big drug and insurance companies incredibly rich at the expense of the well-being of the American people."
He concluded with his commitment:
"As the Ranking Member of the HELP Committee, I will not rest until everyone in America is guaranteed health care as a fundamental human right, not a privilege, through a Medicare for All, single-payer system."
The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee oversees federal programs related to public health—including workforce development—and maintains subcommittees focused on specific policy domains for effective oversight. More information about its role can be found on its official website.
