Senator Bernie Sanders has issued a statement in response to a recent study published by the Journal of American Medical Association. The study highlights significant financial activities within top health care companies from 2001 to 2022, revealing profits of $2.7 trillion and expenditures of $2.6 trillion on stock buybacks and dividends.
Sanders expressed his concern over these findings, stating, “It is absolutely unacceptable that since 2001, the top health care companies in America spent 95% of their profits, $2.6 trillion, not to make Americans healthy, but to make their CEOs and stockholders obscenely rich.”
The senator pointed out the impact on American citizens, noting that “85 million Americans are uninsured or under-insured” and that “one out of four Americans cannot afford the medicine their doctors prescribe.” He further highlighted the dire consequences for many individuals: “Over half a million Americans go bankrupt each and every year due to medically related debt,” and “68,000 people in our country die each year because they cannot afford to go to a doctor when they get sick.”
Sanders criticized the current health care system’s priorities, asserting that its primary function should be to ensure quality health care for all rather than benefiting stockholders and executives. He stated, “None of this money was used to search for new treatments and cures, to lower prices, or to improve patient care. That has got to change.”
The senator also addressed actions by former President Trump and Elon Musk, accusing them of undermining efforts against corporate greed in the pharmaceutical industry. He claimed they have launched an “immoral and unconstitutional attack on the Department of Health and Human Services” while failing to address key issues like AIDS treatment accessibility for low-income individuals.
Sanders vowed continued efforts as Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) to combat what he describes as an unprecedented level of corporate greed within the U.S. health care system.
