Bernie Sanders Introduces Plan to Cancel $81 Billion in Medical Debt

[Uncle Joe]

(snip)

“The very concept of medical debt should not exist,” Sanders said in a statement. “In the wealthiest country in the history of the world, one illness or disease should not ruin a family’s financial life and future.”

Medical debt is a significant economic burden on millions of Americans —and though there is an academic debate over exactly how many bankruptcies are directly attributable to it, health care expenses are the largest single causes of bankruptcies nationwide. According to a 2014 report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, half of all debt reported to credit agencies is medical debt, and one out of every five credit reports contains unpaid medical debt. It’s also a serious—though hard to measure—hazard to people’s health. A 2018 study from West Health and Gallup found that a quarter of all Americans had skipped a medical treatment due to cost.

Under Sanders’ plan, the government would negotiate and pay off $81 billion in unpaid medical bills that have been sold to collection agencies and are currently harming people’s credit reports. His plan would also limit the notorious tactics debt collectors engage in when they track people down and hound them to collect on the debts they have purchased. If implemented, the plan might also come well under its $81 billion price tag as debt sold to debt collectors is worth only a fraction of the original bill.

(snip)

Finally, the proposal would stop medical debt from impacting people’s credit scores. Sanders would create a federal credit registry to rival and ultimately replace credit agencies like Equifax, and medical debt would not be factored into anyone’s score. “Credit scores also systematically perpetuate gaps in wealth and inequality between white and minority consumers,” the plan states. “We will establish a public registry that will end racial biases in credit scores and ensure those with medical debt are not penalized for the ‘crime’ of getting sick.”

(snip)


https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/09/bernie-sanders-medical-debt-plan/

[RandySF]

1. He has to knock out Elizabeth Warren or he's done.

[Uncle Joe]

2. No he doesn't, Bernie just needs to win.

[RandySF]

3. He won't unless Warren is out.

[Uncle Joe]

4. "Out" is such a relative term.

[ecstatic]

7. If Warren leaves, my next choice is Harris.

Bernie is my 25th choice.

[democratisphere]

5. Why doesn't someone do something about all of the healthcare white coat and white collar criminals.

Then there wouldn't be so much debt!

[ecstatic]

6. This is definitely intriguing, but it also strikes me as potentially

desperate and dishonest. Sanders should not promise something like this unless he's sure he can deliver the goods. So far he's promising to forgive student loans, medical debt, and to provide free housing and healthcare. It all sounds great, but he needs to show how he would get this done.

[JudyM]

10. He has been showing how. See e.g., Joe's response below.

Sanders’ goals are matched by plans... no need to assume/attribute negative motives...

[question everything]

8. And what about the providers? Leave them high and dry?

Are you so sure that all of them are filthy rich who can lose what is owed to them?

Will providers, then, demand payment upon service? You are wheeled into the emergency room with a heart attack, or a bullet hole - payment first.

At least take a close look at the individual debt. Or, are you going to use tax payers money to pay? How generous you are, with your millions at our expense.

[Uncle Joe]

9. They're already losing it, having sold it off to collection agencies.

(snip)

Under Sanders’ plan, the government would negotiate and pay off $81 billion in unpaid medical bills that have been sold to collection agencies and are currently harming people’s credit reports. His plan would also limit the notorious tactics debt collectors engage in when they track people down and hound them to collect on the debts they have purchased. If implemented, the plan might also come well under its $81 billion price tag as debt sold to debt collectors is worth only a fraction of the original bill.

(snip)

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/09/bernie-sanders-medical-debt-plan/