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An Open Letter

To: Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez, Sen. Cantwell, Sen. Murray

From: A verified voter in Vancouver, WA

December 29

I am your constituent and I am fed up with companies and investors bleeding healthcare facilities dry. They cut hours, reduce staff, stop offering services, and when the money is squeezed out declare bankruptcy. Commercial ventures have purchased / take ownership positions worth $1 Trillion dollars in healthcare and hospice facilities in the last decade. In nursing homes the death rate increases by 10% in the first year, hospitals have infections post surgery that never occurred before and patients are injured tripping and falling. This is never supposed to happen. But it does because we have very little oversight. Additionally, private equity firms are buying up hospices and reducing the palliative care patients need as they prepare to die. All to save a buck. Look Universal Healthcare with a public insurance trust could make a difference by demanding levels of care or refuse payment. Until we get there I want you to reprise the Health Over Wealth Act from the 118th Congress and expand it to all medical facility purchases. It would make sure that services are not reduced, patients receive needed care and there is enough money to protect the facility and the community for 5 years in the event of Bankruptcy. It was (S. 4804/H.R. 9407) in 118th Congress Look it Up Additionally, I want you to resubmit H.R. 9803, the Hospice CARE Act of the 118th Congress. It aims to strengthen Medicare hospice by improving patient access, reforming payments, and curbing fraud, notably by expanding coverage for palliative blood transfusions, increasing payments for treatments like chemo/dialysis, allowing home-based respite, creating transitional inpatient care, and adding a 5-year moratorium on new hospice enrollments to improve program integrity. I know you are busy but you can keep your constituents from suffering needlessly. Take action, constituents will remember that you cared about them.

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