New York City woman erased $119 million in medical debt for thousands of Americans. She died at 38, but turned grief of others into relief

Casey McIntyre was only 38 when she lost her life due to stage four ovarian cancer in November 2023. But even as she faced her final days in this world, the New York City book publisher was thinking about the people who were struggling with medical bills that they just could not afford. Her last wish was to turn the grief of her own death into financial relief for thousands of families.

More than a year after her death, that wish did actually help to erase nearly $119 million in medical debt for people across the United States, according to Undue Medical Debt, the non-profit organisation behind the campaign.

McIntyre and her husband, Andrew Rose Gregory, launched a fundraiser in her name to help people burdened by unpaid healthcare bills. The campaign gained viral attention online after a message announcing her death was posted on her Instagram account.

Her final message

In the post, McIntyre wrote, “I loved each and every one of you with my whole heart and I promise you, I knew how deeply I was loved.”

She also explained why she wanted to use her final days to help others.

“I am so lucky to have had access to the best medical care,” she wrote, “and am keenly aware that so many in our country don’t have access to good care.”

According to BBC and AP News reports from November 2023, the initial fundraiser had quickly exceeded its original target of $20,000. The donations for her heart-warming cause grew rapidly as people wanted to be part of her plan to erase medical debt.

McIntyre had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2019 and she went through chemotherapy, surgeries and experimental immunotherapy before ultimately entering home hospice care in June 2023. Her husband told TODAY that she had tried every available option and that the family was grateful to have spent a final summer together.

The couple also had a young daughter, Grace, who was only 18 months old when her mother McIntyre died due to ovarian cancer.

$119 million in medical debt erased

The campaign was handled by Undue Medical Debt, which is a nonprofit that purchases medical debts in large portfolios at just a fraction of their original value before cancelling them for eligible individuals.

The organisation says that on average every dollar donated to them can eliminate $100 in medical debt for someone. Its relief programme targets people whose incomes are at or below 400% of the federal poverty level, or whose medical debt is of at least 5% of their annual income.

In December 2023, the first round of the McIntyre Jubilee fundraiser had helped in erasing approximately $44 million in medical debt.

On December 17, 2024, the non-profit had announced another $75,437,194 in debt relief for 72,320 people. It helped people in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, as well as Georgia and other parts of the country.

When combined the two rounds total up to more than $119 million in cancelled medical debt.

Why medical debt mattered to her

Although McIntyre had health insurance and received treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, her family still had to go through frightening medical charges.

Speaking to AP News, Gregory explained the concern that they shared, “Instead of dreaming of a cure for cancer, what if we could just help people who are being crushed by medical debt?”

The campaign has since offered relief to people facing bills for everything from hospital treatment to routine medical procedures. One recipient described how a bill for stitches received in 2019 had remained on their credit record for years.

For Gregory, the donations have brought some comfort amid the grief of losing McIntyre to cancer.