Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear (D) signed an executive order Tuesday that sends $2.5 million to a national nonprofit to erase an estimated $250 million in medical debt for more than 130,000 Kentuckians.
The order created the Team Kentucky Medical Debt Relief Program and directs funds to Undue Medical Debt, which buys medical debt from participating hospitals and collection agencies and cancels it for a fraction of its cost. The governor’s office said the arrangement results in $100 of debt erased for every $1 the state spends.
“Medical debt isn’t a choice. It’s what people are faced with after a serious accident, a serious illness, a cancer diagnosis, and more,” Beshear said at a press conference announcing the order. …