Already two Democratic Senate candidates (in Texas and Michigan) are promoting the idea of having the government cancel medical debt. If this campaign promise gains any attention, expect other candidates to also propose the same government promise.

The problem of medical debt is a major problem for Americans. Over 100,000 Americans carry a total of $220 billion in medical debt. Until a few days ago, I was one of those people. I may not have been in that total since I payed off my debt to the hospital, just over a two-month period.

Some of the people with medical debt have significant obligations. About 14 million adults owe more than $1,000 with 3 million with debt over $10,000. This level of debt also affects their credit scores.

Although medical debt is a problem, these proposals ignore the reason for them in the first place. As we often explain on my radio program, patients are disconnected from medical costs. I suggest that if my guests and I decided to go out to dinner, their menu decisions would be influenced by whether I was paying for the dinner, or each person was paying for the meal. If someone else is paying for dinner, you pay less attention to price.

Another problem is the sad fact that many government policies limit or even eliminate competition in the medical marketplace. Some government rules even grant insurance companies wider latitude to overcharge patients.

This is a case where the government makes medical expenses higher, so the solution from these senatorial candidates is to deal with the symptom rather than the problem. If cancelling medical debt becomes a fashionable campaign promise, perhaps we should ask the candidates to address the problem, not the symptom.