ERproductions Ltd | Getty PhotosDemocratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is proposing to wipe out an estimated $81 billion in past-due med
ERproductions Ltd | Getty Photos
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is proposing to wipe out an estimated $81 billion in past-due medical debt. Up to 80 million People may very well be impacted.
“Folks undoubtedly must have their debt both forgiven or negotiated decrease, to allow them to afford it and not using a hardship,” mentioned Craig Antico, the co-founder of RIP Medical Debt, which buys and forgives medical debt.
Two-thirds of people who file for chapter annually blame their health-care prices, in response to one research. “Persons are one sickness or accident away from monetary damage on this nation,” Antico mentioned.
Sanders’ announcement on medical debt builds on his Medicare for All plan, and would doubtless be paid for with a tax on firms based mostly on their CEO compensation. In a current city corridor, a army veteran from Nevada told Sanders he was contemplating suicide because of his $139,000 in medical debt.
CNBC spoke to individuals about how they fell into medical debt and the way it shapes their lives.
Kathleen Herzig
Supply: Kathleen Herzig
KATHLEEN HERZIG could not stroll 10 toes with out turning into breathless. The 58-year-old blackjack supplier from Primm, Nevada, wanted an aortic valve replacement in 2017 and wound find yourself staying within the hospital for over a month.
Herzig did not have medical insurance via her job, and now she has over $600,000 in medical…