Exclusive: legislation creates a program to cancel all existing patient debt and block creditors from collecting past medical bills

"No one in America should face financial ruin because of the outrageous cost of an unexpected medical emergency or a hospital stay,” Sanders said.

Studies have shown that millions of Americans owe a combined $220 billion in medical debt, with 1 in 5 adults saying they don't expect to ever be able to pay off the bills. A group of congressional Democrats on Wednesday proposed knocking the amount down to zero.