Bernie Sanders proposes canceling $81 bln U.S. medical debt

WASHINGTON, Aug 31 (Reuters) - U.S. presidential contenderBernie Sanders proposed a plan on Saturday to cancel $81 billionin existing past-due medical debt for Americans, but offered nodetails on how it would be financed.

Sanders, an independent U.S. senator from Vermont, said in astatement that under his plan, the government would negotiateand pay off past-due medical bills that have been reported tocredit agencies. The proposal, he said, would also repeal someelements of the 2005 Bankruptcy reform bill and allow otherexisting and future medical debt to be discharged.

"In the United States of America, your financial life andfuture should not be destroyed because you or a member of yourfamily gets sick," said Sanders. "That is unacceptable. I amsick and tired of seeing over 500,000 Americans declarebankruptcy each year because they cannot pay off the outrageouscost of a medical emergency or a hospital stay."

According to Sanders, medical debt is the leading cause ofconsumer bankruptcy, with more than half a million Americansfiling due to medical expenses each year. He said the 2005Bankruptcy reform bill made it difficult to discharge medicaldebt by imposing strict means tests and eliminated fundamentalconsumer protections for Americans.

"It also trapped families with medical debt in long-termpoverty, mandated that they pay for credit counseling beforefiling for bankruptcy, and increased the need for expensivelegal services when filing a case for medical bankruptcy," thesenator said.Sanders is seeking the Democratic nomination, along with morethan a dozen other candidates, for the right to challengeRepublican President Donald Trump in November 2020.(Reporting By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Dan Grebler)