{"id":7822,"date":"2025-11-03T17:35:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T01:35:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/washington\/?post_type=article&p=7822"},"modified":"2026-07-17T12:23:56","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T19:23:56","slug":"fall-legislative-briefing-series","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/washington\/articles\/fall-legislative-briefing-series\/","title":{"rendered":"Fall Legislative Briefing Series"},"featured_media":47963,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":false,"_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":""},"campaign_tax":[],"display_option":[],"issue_tax":[],"person_tax":[],"region_tax":[],"state":[3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,2,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,55,42,43,44,45,46,56,47,48,49,50,51,52,53],"topic_tax":[142,130,138,153,141,157],"class_list":["post-7822","article","type-article","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"details":{"helper_taxonomies":{"topics":[130,138,141,142,153,157,225,245],"collection":false,"press_type":false,"person_type":false,"resource_type":false,"event_type":false,"campaigns":227,"department":false,"level":false,"states":[2,3,4,5,6,14,7,8,9,10,12,13,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,55,56],"act_option":false,"display_option":false,"primary":{"topic":null}},"featured_image":47963,"caption_override":"","excerpt":"Environment America, PIRG and our state affiliates have teamed up for a series of brief, informative webinars for state lawmakers and their staff on key issues affecting our environment, our health, and our well-being.","updated_on":null,"sidebar_action":"","hide_hero_image":false,"sidebar_action_query_string":""},"helper_people_group":{"title":"Authors","entities":null},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

Policy to Plate: Children's Health and Food Legislation<\/span><\/h2>\r\n[embed]https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=gVQgI9HqRaA&t=5s[\/embed]\r\n\r\nCurrently, there is a heightened political impetus, unprecedented in recent decades, to reform our food systems. The focus has shifted from mere quantity to the quality of the food produced and distributed. This trend is evident not only in Washington D.C. but also across various states, where legislation has been introduced and enacted to safeguard children from unwholesome foods and additives, such as synthetic dyes, and to enhance the nutritional standards of school lunches. This panel was moderated by Liam Sacino, Public Health Campaigns Advocate for U.S. PIRG Education Fund. We heard from experts <\/span>Travis McCormick<\/span><\/a>, Founder of Make Texans Healthy Again and <\/span>Scott Faber<\/span><\/a>, Senior Vice President of Environmental Working Group (EWG).<\/span>\r\n\r\nTo take action, learn <\/span>how to pack your child\u2019s lunchbox without food dyes<\/span><\/a> and sign our <\/span>petition to tell Sodexo: Commit to purchasing and serving 100% synthetic dye-free<\/span><\/a> food.\u00a0<\/span>","":null}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

Cutting Hidden Health Care Costs: State Policy Options to Curb Facility Fees<\/b><\/h2>\r\n[embed]https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=OqvfXH-p5zM&t=1s[\/embed]\r\n\r\nWhat is a facility fee, and why are patients avoiding the doctor because of them? Facility fees are hidden and unjustified charges hospital-owned clinics bill patients for routine care.\u00a0 These hidden charges drive up health care costs and add hundreds of dollars to patient bills. People are reaching out to PIRG to share how much these bills cost and the struggles they face fighting these baseless facility fees.<\/span>\r\n<\/span>\r\n\r\nMore than 20 states have begun to address this problem, but comprehensive legislation is still needed in most states. This briefing spotlighted Connecticut\u2019s landmark law\u2013the most comprehensive in the U.S. The law\u2019s prime legislative sponsor, <\/span>Senator Martin Looney<\/span><\/a>, shared insights on how he got the bill across the finish line. We also learned from <\/span>Christine Monohan<\/span><\/a>, academic researcher about how states are tackling the problem and what legislative models are best to emulate. <\/span>\r\n<\/span>\r\n<\/span>Have you gotten a facility fee? Share your story here: <\/span>Were you charged a \u2018facility fee\u2019 on your medical bill?<\/span><\/a>\r\n