When I left home for college, literally the same August that I left for college, we got a notice

from the health care plan that my premium was being increased 300%.

And suddenly we were thrown in a whirlwind

where I was trying to figure out how to apply for a Medicaid

again because I went out of state for school.

My parents could not afford to put me on their insurance from

their employer. We just could not afford it again. My dad makes a thousand dollars

over the threshold. Why can't the free market work? This is Here The Bird, a podcast about the people, ideas, and politics that are driving the

Bernie Sanders' 2020 campaign and the movement to secure a dignified life for everyone living in this country.

My name is Brianna Joy Gray, coming to you from Bernie's campaign headquarters in Washington, D.C.

To be honest, when I sent out an office-wide Slack message to see if anyone had any interest in sharing their health insurance stories with me,

I didn't expect to get much of a response.

The staff, at least those who are active on slack, tend to skew young.

And young people tend to skew healthy and insured, especially since the Affordable Care Act

allows folks to stay on their parents insurance until age 26.

But the thing about private health insurance is that even when it's working, it's often not working well.

43% of adults with health insurance are struggling to afford their deductibles.

About a third can't afford their premiums.

Medical bills are the number one cause of bankruptcy and nearly half of those who get cancer

exhaust their entire life savings in two years.

Tens of millions of people are skipping or delaying the treatment they need.

And tens of thousands die each year because they can't get care.

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