Implementing a universal, single-payer health care system would save the U.S. more than $1 trillion and some 114,000 lives every year, according to a recent Yale University analysis.

In a preprint paper posted on July 24 that has not yet been peer-reviewed—the gold-standard quality check for academic research—scientists at Yale’s School of Public Health and the University of Maryland, Baltimore, found that, under the current U.S. health care system, which largely hinges on private insurance, Americans spend some $5.2 trillion per year on health care. Under a “Medicare for All” system, they estimated, that would shrink to around $4.2 trillion, with savings of $1.04 trillion.

In a statement, Sanders, who has introduced numerous Medicare for All bills during his tenure, said the study “confirms what we have known for years: Medicare for All saves lives and saves money.”

“At a time when 15 million Americans are being thrown off the healthcare they have and 20 million Americans have already seen their premiums double, on average, as a result of Trump’s so-called ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ we need Medicare for All now more than ever,” he said. “The time is now to end the greed of the big insurance and drug companies and pass Medicare for All.”

According to the paper, the reduced cost would largely stem from lower drug prices and eliminating fraudulent billing from insurance companies, with additional savings from avoiding unnecessary emergency and inpatient care. The researchers also estimated the potential number of lives saved: They presumed a higher mortality rate for the 27.5 million people in the U.S. who have no health insurance, finding that some 114,174 deaths could be avoided by introducing a universal, single-payer system.

Truly hard to believe that inserting a for-profit layer between patients and doctors raised costs!