Florence, South Carolina (CNN) Sen. Bernie Sanders announced late Friday that he plans to eliminate billions in medical debt, hinting at a proposal the 2020 presidential Democratic candidate's campaign has yet to release in full.

The plan, which the Sanders campaign says would cancel $81 billion in existing past-due medical debt and make changes to the 2005 bankruptcy bill, is not expected to be released in its entirety for another month. The proposal -- which is still in the works, separate from the senator's "Medicare for All" plan and meant to address debt under the current system -- does not explicitly state how Sanders will eliminate medical debt, but says, "under this plan, the federal government will negotiate and pay off past-due medical bills in collection that have been reported to credit agencies."

Sanders' announcement came during a health care-focused town hall in Florence, South Carolina, in response to a question from an audience member on how he would address the issue. The campaign was still developing details of the plan when Sanders hinted at its release Friday night, but released an outline Saturday after the Vermont senator was asked about the issue directly.

A woman at the town hall stood up and asked, "Is there anything in your plan that would actually work for people that are drowning right now for their medical debt?"

"We're looking at that right now," Sanders responded. "In another piece of legislation that we're going to be offering we will eliminate medical debt in this country. I mean, just stop and think for a second. Why should people be placed in financial duress? For what crime did you commit? You got a serious illness? That is not what this country should be about."

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