UnderSanders' plan, the federal government would negotiate and pay offpast-due medical bills in collections that have been reported tocredit agencies. (Photo: Shutterstock)

(Bloomberg) –Senator Bernie Sanders is proposing to cancel anestimated $81 billion in past-due medical debt owed by Americans as he vies forthe 2020 Democratic presidential nomination using a platformfocused on health care.

The plan is still being formulated and details — including howit would be financed — weren't addressed in an emailed release fromthe Sanders campaign on Saturday. The full proposal will beannounced within a month.

"Your financial life and future should not be destroyed becauseyou or a member of your family gets sick," the Vermont senator saidin a statement. "I am sick and tired of seeing over 500,000Americans declare bankruptcy each year because they cannot pay offthe outrageous cost of a medical emergency or a hospital stay."

Related: Medical debt tops list of collectioncalls

Under Sanders' plan, the federal government would negotiate andpay off past-due medical bills in collections that have beenreported to credit agencies. Sanders proposes to repeal what hiscampaign termed "the worst elements" of a 2005 bankruptcy reformlaw, and allow other existing and future medical debt to bedischarged. The plan also would ensure that unpaid medical billsdidn't hurt people's credit scores.

The 2005 bankruptcy bill "trapped families with medical debt inlong-term poverty, mandated that they pay for credit counselingbefore filing for bankruptcy, and increased the need for expensivelegal services when filing a case for medical bankruptcy," theSanders campaign said.

Sanders teased the idea in remarks to reporters whilecampaigning in Florence, South Carolina, on Friday. He'll holdevents Sunday and Monday in New Hampshire and Maine.

Runner-up to Hillary Clinton for the party's nomination in 2016,Sanders is running second or third in most national polls for 2020,with 17.1% support, according to the RealClearPolitics average.

The signature proposal of his campaign is the creation of aMedicare for All system that would provide health insurance toevery American, replacing private insurance with a government-runsystem. Health care premiums, deductibles and co-pays would end,offset by higher taxes.

Read more: 

• Pay the medical bills or save forretirement?
• Medicaid expansion takes a bite out of medicaldebt
• Surprise medical bills are becoming more common–andexpensive

Copyright 2019 Bloomberg. All rightsreserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten,or redistributed.