Bernie Sanders decries planned closing of Philadelphia hospital

Sen. Bernie Sanders on Sunday assailed the planned closure of a hospital in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, saying it demonstrated the failures of the country's greedy health care system.

Company president Joel Freedman said he "relentlessly pursued numerous strategic options" to keep the Philadelphia-based Hahnemann University Hospital open, but it "cannot continue to lose millions of dollars each month and remain in business."

The Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals accused Freedman of having "basically plundered" the hospital, which dates back to 1848, "and driven it into the ground," according to a report.

"The business model of America’s current health care system is not about healing people or providing access to medical care — it is about making as much money as possible for insurance companies, drug companies and wealthy investors," said the Democratic presidential candidate.

"The situation in Philadelphia illustrates the entire problem: In a city with one of the highest poverty rates in the country, a major hospital serving low-income communities is on the verge of laying off 2,500 people, abandoning 500 medical residents, and closing its operations thanks to an investment firm looking to make as much money as possible in a corporate fire sale."

The Vermont senator added that he stood in solidarity with the nurses and others who are fighting to keep the hospital "from being destroyed by Joel Freedman and his investment firm," and reiterated his call for "Medicare for All."

Sanders spoke in April at the the annual conference of the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals, which supports Medicare for All. The union endorsed Sanders in his 2016 presidential bid. He is hoping to win its backing again, a Sanders aide said.

The Sanders campaign is also planning to make health care a centerpiece of its strategy in Pennsylvania, and argues that what it calls former Vice President Joe Biden's "middle-ground approach" to the issue will lead to outcomes such as Hahnemann's closure. In a recent interview with CNN, Biden criticized Sanders' Medicare-for-All plan and said his own proposal is "rational" and will "cost a hell of a lot less."

"Medicare for All will not only save hospitals, but it will energize Pennsylvanians to vote and finally defeat Donald Trump," Faiz Shakir, Sanders' campaign manager, told POLITICO. "I think anyone pushing for less than Medicare for All needs to explain how their system would 'cost a hell of a lot less' if it's still going to be making life worse for too many Pennsylvanians."

Biden said his health care proposal would "provide an option for anybody who, in fact, wants to buy into Medicare for All," while allowing people to keep their employed-based insurance if they prefer it.

Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine