'So cruel': Bernie Sanders tells Theo Von that half of cancer treatment patients go bankrupt or broke — and he praises the Canadian system for 'good-quality' health care

'Depleted' patients

Sanders has long criticized the U.S. health-care system, labeling it as “broken” in comparison to other countries. In his conversation with Von, he shared a particularly distressing figure.

“Half the people who get cancer treatment either end up in bankruptcy or utilizing all of the financial resources of their family,” Sanders said. “They're depleted, they’re broke.”

He didn't say where the statistic came from, but a poll conducted by KFF in 2022 found that 23% of of adults with health-care debt who’ve had cancer themselves or in their household declared bankruptcy or lost their home to eviction or foreclosure, while 60% reported using up most of their savings.

Sanders highlighted that, beyond the devastating diagnosis of cancer, patients must confront the looming threat of crippling medical bills.

“Imagine that, you go into the hospital, the doctor says, ‘Theo, sorry, you got cancer.’ Terrible. You're worried to death, right? Your friends, your family, are worried. And then on top of that, what are you worried about? Oh, my God, what? I'm going to have to sell my house. Oh, I have to go bankrupt in order to pay medical bills,” Sanders illustrated.

Sanders then posed a rhetorical question: If someone is dealing with cancer, would the added financial stress possibly improve their condition?

“No,” Von replied.

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'The way it should be'

Sanders didn’t just offer a harsh critique of the U.S. health-care system, he also pointed to a model in a neighboring country.

“Let me talk about the Canadian system. Simple system: you pay taxes, and [it's] progressive — the more you make, the more you pay. But everyone pays taxes. The end result is, you walk into the hospital, you sign your name, you have all the treatment you need, and it's good-quality health care,” he explained to Von.

Canada has a universal health-care system funded through taxes, allowing citizens and permanent residents to enroll in public health insurance. This means they don’t have to pay out of pocket for most health-care services, though each province and territory offers different coverage for various services and products.

Sanders admires the Canadian approach, suggesting it holds valuable lessons for the U.S.

“You don't have to argue with insurance companies. You get the care that the doctors think you need, end of discussion. And in my view, that's the way it should be,” he emphasized.

However, despite its virtues, the Canadian system is not without its criticisms. One of the primary concerns is lengthy wait times.

The Fraser Institute, a Canadian public policy think tank, reported in 2023 that specialist physicians across the provinces observed a median wait time of 27.7 weeks between a referral from a general practitioner to the actual receipt of treatment. That’s more than six months.

This wait time consists of two parts: an average of 14.6 weeks from referral to a consultation with a specialist, and another 13.1 weeks from the specialist consultation to the beginning of treatment.

And the delays apply not only to treatment but also to diagnostics. In 2023, Canadians faced average wait times of 6.6 weeks for a CT scan, 12.9 weeks for an MRI and 5.3 weeks for an ultrasound, the report says.