'You're Ducking The Question': Ron Wyden Lights Into Trump HHS Nominee Over EMTALA

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At a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Thursday, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) spoke about HHS nominee Michael Stuart about EMTALA.

Transcript

00:00Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

00:02Mr. Stewart, let me start with you as you sensed from our visit that I'm concerned

00:07about some of what you've been involved in in West Virginia on the health care front.

00:12So I'm going to get into a couple of the issues that you would have to deal with if confirmed.

00:18And I want to start with the Trump administration's record on the EMTALA law.

00:25For those that may not know the details of it, this is the law that requires hospitals

00:32to provide emergency stabilizing treatment for all patients that show up at their door.

00:40After the Dobbs case, the Biden administration provided clarity that hospitals must provide

00:49stabilizing reproductive health care in all states.

00:54So the Trump administration, one of the first things they wanted to do was to get rid of

01:01that guidance.

01:03And women have been suffering, even dying, and there's even more chaos and confusion.

01:12And at the heart of the problem is under the Trump approach, doctors play lawyers, lawyers

01:20play doctors, women are suffering, and they tell us, we had one witness, they're in the

01:27emergency room and people are arguing about what to do.

01:32Women suffering, even dying under these Trump rules.

01:35So my first question to you is, do you believe that EMTALA, this federal law that I just described,

01:43requires women to become septic or at risk of death to receive emergency reproductive medical

01:51care?

01:52Well, I appreciate the question, Senator.

01:54And first, I want to thank you for the opportunity to be able to meet with you yesterday.

01:57And I look forward to many opportunities in the future, if confirmed, to be able to work

02:01with you and your staff on important issues like this.

02:05You know, I've taken a look at the law with respect to...

02:08My time is short.

02:10My question is, do you believe that the law requires women to become septic to get reproductive

02:20emergency medical care?

02:22Well, thank you for the question.

02:23The answer to that question is, nothing in the law prevents emergency treatment for pregnant

02:30women.

02:30Nothing in the law today prevents that.

02:33Well, what would you do?

02:35Let's do it this way, because you're ducking the question.

02:39But what would you do to make sure that hospitals comply with this law that I just read to you?

02:47You get this job, what would you do to make sure that hospitals comply with the law that

02:53I just read to you?

02:54Well, I encourage everyone to follow the law.

02:56That's been my career.

02:57And as general counsel, if confirmed...

02:59That's not the question.

03:00You'd be walking into a situation where, in hospitals, there's so much chaos and so much

03:08confusion.

03:09Women get hurt.

03:10And it's because, as we've heard testimony, the doctors play lawyers, the lawyers play doctors.

03:16They go back and forth.

03:17We need somebody who's going to step in and make sure that women are protected in line

03:24with the law.

03:25And I've asked you two questions already, and I'd really like to know, if you get confirmed,

03:31what are you going to do to step in and deal with this confusion and chaos about the law

03:36that's hurting women?

03:37Well, my answer is that I'm a lawyer, not a doctor, but I will provide guidance with respect

03:42to the law.

03:43I believe the law is clear.

03:44Nothing in the law today prevents pregnant women from getting life-sustaining emergent

03:51treatment when they're at a hospital.

03:53I'm going to move on because you basically ducked three questions on this topic.

03:58If you'd like to send us something in writing that would describe how you would actually

04:05make sure that hospitals are following the law, not encouraging and all the rest, but

04:11actually following it, I'd like to see it.

04:13One question for you, Mr. Schweitzer.

04:16You know, we're having all kinds of problems with the small business people.

04:19My state is overwhelmingly a small business state.

04:22After you're done with a couple of big companies, everybody's a small business operator.

04:27It's the tariffs that are killing them.

04:29The tariffs are hitting them like a wrecking ball.

04:31If you're confirmed, what would you do?

04:34And I'd like a specific idea to help these small businesses because they're getting hit

04:39by taxes.

04:40That's what tariffs are.

04:42What would you do?

04:43Thank you, Senator Wyden, for that question.

04:47You know, what I would do is what the president is trying to do right now and has been doing

04:52with a lot of the great trade deals and what Ambassador Greer has been doing, traveling

04:55all over the world, is that I would push for access.

04:58The U.S. small businesses have been denied access to most markets around the world.

05:04The tariff barriers, the non-tariff barriers, the regulatory strictures, the use of sort

05:10of white lists of products that are available to be purchased.

05:14Again, my experience in China is deep, Senator.

05:17And I can tell you that small businesses from the United States trying to sell in China, whether

05:21they have a superior product, whether they can beat on price, whether they have a huge

05:24market.

05:25None of those things matter, Senator.

05:27The government puts in place restrictions.

05:29So what would you do for the small business person?

05:32Opening access, Senator, is the most important thing.

05:34How would you do that?

05:35But we're in the middle of opening.

05:36They're faced with taxes.

05:37That's what a tariff is.

05:39A tariff is a tax.

05:40They want tax relief.

05:42What would you do to give it to them?

05:44As I said, Senator, we're working diligently.

05:47The president has been.

05:48Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

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