skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Sunday, November 3, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump attacks Liz Cheney using violent war imagery; Election insights: What 50 Ohioans want to hear from candidates; Consumer groups slam CA Supreme Court ruling on lemon law; On National Brush Day, new resources in KY to boost oral health.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Harris says her campaign is prepared for Trump to prematurely claim victory, Pennsylvania election officials say safeguards in the system are preventing vote fraud, and Montana Senate race could hinge on the "political refugee" vote.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A Cambodian poultry farmer who lost his livelihood could be a hero for others, rural Montanans are anxiously awaiting a court ruling over a climate lawsuit brought by young people, and Northeast states say more housing for working families could boost jobs.

Shaheen: 'Citizens United' Stopped Plan to Curb Surprise Medical Billing

play audio
Play

Friday, January 17, 2020   

CONCORD, N.H. -- As the tenth anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United decision approaches, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said the nation's "broken" campaign-finance system has stopped Congress from fixing the issue of surprise medical billing.

As Shaheen recalled, lawmakers had been working on making sure that patients don't get sticker shock from their medical bills, when two huge, Wall Street private-equity firms poured $50 million into ads that misled and confused the public. Shaheen said a group with an innocent-sounding name -- Doctor Patient Unity -- was making scary claims about possible impacts on patients.

"Turns out, it wasn't concerned about patients at all," she said. "What they were concerned about was the bottom line of two private-equity companies who had invested in doctors that specialized in surprise billing. And the voters had no idea."

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, groups have spent $1 billion of so-called "dark money," hiding donors' identities, since the verdict in Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission.

Supporters defend the court's decision, however, saying that political speech, including ads, should be protected by the First Amendment.

A report from the watchdog group Public Citizen found that the top 25 donors are responsible for nearly half of all contributions to super PACs.

Since being enabled by Citizens United and similar decisions, Shaheen said, their influence is stopping Congress from doing what the public wants and needs.

"This dishonest campaign around surprise medical billing is 'Exhibit A' in how broken our campaign-finance system is - the confusion, the misinformation and the destruction that happens because of Citizens United," she added.

A bill that would require disclosure of dark-money sources has passed the U.S. House, but is being blocked from discussion by Republican leadership in the Senate.

Polls show more than three-quarters of Americans would like to see Citizens United overturned. The tenth anniversary of the decision is Tues., Jan. 21.



get more stories like this via email

more stories
Signal Ohio found overarching issues such as climate change, reproductive rights and safety were on the minds of many Ohioans. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

As Election Day approaches, the online outlet Signal Ohio interviewed 50 people across Cleveland and Akron to find out what is on the minds of …


Environment

play sound

Wild Chinook salmon have returned to the Upper Klamath River less than two months after the largest dam-removal project in U.S. history to remove …

Social Issues

play sound

Millions of Californians buy used cars still under a manufacturer's warranty - but consumer groups say those warranties are now essentially unenforcea…


Even with the rise of social media and email blasts, traditional "Get Out the Vote" rallies are seen by experts as key to helping boost participation in elections. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Political rallies and large-scale "get out the vote" events might conjure images of a packed arena in a major city but in states like North Dakota…

Environment

play sound

As North Carolina communities continue to pick up the pieces after Hurricane Helene, they have faced a new obstacle: A surge of misinformation is …

As of Oct. 31, Minnesota election offices had accepted nearly 1 million absentee ballots. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

In the final sprint toward Election Day, some Minnesotans might worry their absentee ballot won't arrive in time. Experts say there's no cause for …

Social Issues

play sound

New York's affordable housing crisis is being made worse by corporate landlords, according to groups trying to reform the system. The state …

Social Issues

play sound

By Mariah Alanskas for Kent State NewsLab.Broadcast version by Farah Siddiqi reporting for the Kent State-Ohio News Connection Collaboration…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021