Casey McIntyre, a Brooklyn publishing executive, died of stage four ovarian cancer at age 38 in November 2023. But before her final breath, she and her husband, Andrew Gregory, set up a specific mechanism to turn their grief into financial relief for strangers. The campaign, managed by the non-profit Undue Medical Debt (formerly RIP Medical Debt), operates by buying groups of unpaid medical accounts on secondary markets. Because these debts can be purchased for pennies on the dollar, every dollar donated effectively wipes out about $100 in original medical balances.
The initial impact was immediate. In December 2023, the organization announced the first major debt relief funded by McIntyre’s campaign, erasing $44.9 million in healthcare debt for more than 51,000 people. Recipients received a yellow envelope in the mail confirming their balances were completely cleared, with no tax penalties or other obligations attached. By December 2024, a second wave of debt cancellation added another $75 million to the total, bringing the overall erased debt to over $120 million.
The organization specifically targets individuals who earn four times or less than the federal poverty level, or whose medical debt equals 5 percent or more of their yearly gross income. Gregory noted that McIntyre was profoundly grateful for the high-quality care she received but was also furious about the systemic unfairness of the US healthcare system. "She wanted to make sure that others who were suffering wouldn't have to carry the added burden of crippling debt," he said.
Allison Sesso, CEO of Undue Medical Debt, stated that McIntyre's campaign became one of the most successful fundraising efforts in the organization's history, sparking similar grassroots debt-relief initiatives across the country. The fundraising page remains active, allowing ongoing donations to continue erasing medical debt in McIntyre's name.