Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders previewed a plan to cancel about $81 billion worth of existing medical debt in the United States.

The plan, which will be released in September, would cancel $81 billion in past-due medical debt, repeal sections of the 2005 bankruptcy reform bill and protect credit scores from being affected by medical debt, according to a press release obtained by The Hill on Saturday.

“We will eliminate medical debt in this country. Just stop and think for a second — why should people be placed in financial duress? For what crime did you commit? You had a serious illness? That is not what this country should be about,” the Vermont senator said at a South Carolina town hall Friday. (RELATED: Bernie Sanders Tells Union Worker: I’d ‘Absolutely’ Take Away Your Health Care Plan)

It is nothing less than barbaric that the leading cause of bankruptcy in America is medical debt. These people didn’t spend all their money on luxury items. Their crime was that they got sick. We are going to cancel all $81 billion in existing past-due medical debt. — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) August 31, 2019

Americans in the past year borrowed an estimated $88 billion to cover health care costs, and 76% of all Americans agree they pay too much for health care coverage in light of the quality of care they’re getting, an April Gallup-West Health survey found.

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Sanders also said during the town hall that while his Medicare for All plan would mean increased taxes for the middle class, that money would be returned in the form of affordable health care for every American.

“You’re going to be paying more in taxes. But at the end of the day, you’re going to be paying less for health care than you are right now. It will be comprehensive,” he said about how people would benefit from Medicare for All if employers already pay premiums, according to Fox 6 Now.

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