Bernie Sanders Says 530,000 Americans Go Bankrupt Paying Medical Bills Each Year — Attacks 'Unprecedented' Income And Wealth Inequality

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Sunday again cited an estimate of 530,000 medical bankruptcies a year, saying it shows why his Medicare for All plan is urgently needed.

Sanders Highlights U.S. Medical Bankruptcy Crisis

In a post on X, Sanders contrasted the "number of people who go bankrupt a year due to medical debt" in rich countries. Germany, France, the U.K., Japan and Canada were all listed as "0," while the United States appeared alone with a "530,000" figure, followed by his line, "Yes. We need Medicare for All — NOW."

The figure cited by Sander comes from a 2019 American Journal of Public Health study and editorial co-authored by physicians David Himmelstein and Steffie Woolhandler, longtime advocates of a national health insurance system.

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Researchers, Critics Clash Over Bankruptcy Study Methods

The interpretation of that number remains disputed. A Washington Post fact check in 2019 noted that the study counted filers who mentioned medical issues as one contributing factor, not necessarily the primary cause and said bankruptcies typically stem from a mix of health problems, job loss and other debts.

Minutes before his medical-debt post, Sanders used X to attack what he called "an unprecedented level of income & wealth inequality," writing, "It isn't acceptable that the top 1% owns more wealth than the bottom 93%, while a majority of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. We must stand together & create an economy that works for all, not just the few."

Wealth Inequality Rant Tied To Health Policy Fight

The posts come as Sanders continues to clash with President Donald Trump over health policy. Sanders last month blasted Trump's plan to reroute federal health funds directly to individuals as "not a winning political strategy," after Trump argued that sending money straight to consumers would let them buy insurance and negotiate prices themselves.

Billionaire Mark Cuban, meanwhile, has labeled the Republican blueprint "really, really dumb," warning that cash transfers might never reach actual medical care, and has also criticized Sanders' Medicare for All proposal, raising questions about how a sweeping single-payer system would be financed and implemented.

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