Bernie Sanders and Ro Khanna reveal bill to ‘cancel all medical debt’

Two prominent progressive lawmakers, the Vermont senator Bernie Sanders and California congressman Ro Khanna, revealed on Wednesday a new bill aimed at eliminating medical debt.

The bill, introduced with Oregon senator Jeff Merkley and Michigan congresswoman Rashida Tlaib,would create a federal grant program to cancel all existing patient debt and amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to block creditors from collecting past medical bills. The legislation would also update billing requirements for medical providers and alter the Consumer Credit Reporting Act to prevent credit agencies from reporting information related to unpaid medical bills, alleviating the risk of such debt damaging patients’ credit histories.

Sanders and Khanna described the legislation as vital for many families’ financial security, as millions of Americans struggle with the burden of medical debt. According to a 2022 investigation by NPR and KFF Health News, more than 100 million Americans, including 41% of adults, hold some kind of healthcare debt. A KFF analysis of the Census Bureau’s survey of income and program participation suggests that Americans owe at least $220bn in medical debt.

“This is the United States of America, the richest country in the history of the world. People in our country should not be going bankrupt because they got cancer and could not afford to pay their medical bills,” Sanders said in a statement.

When Sanders ran for president in 2020, he vowed to eliminate medical debt if elected. Now, as the chair of the Senate health, education, labor, and pensions (Help) committee, Sanders has worked with Khanna for over a year to introduce a bill that could