LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX News) — More than 130,000 Kentuckians are set to benefit from a new medical debt relief program established by the governor's executive order this week.
The program is a partnership with national nonprofit Undue Medical Debt.
Alex Herring, 38, is among the estimated 1 in 5 Kentuckians carrying medical debt. Diagnosed with stage four colon cancer four years ago, he is currently receiving treatment every two to three weeks.
He estimates he owes $65,000 in medical bills.
"I'm forced into the position where I have to work full-time because of that medical debt, because of those monthly health premiums, and everything that comes along with just having cancer," Herring said.
Herring said he was glad to hear about the statewide program.
"It's definitely a step in the right direction. So it helps people that need it currently, and then I think it builds towards a future where we do that more often," Herring said.
The concept is not new to Kentucky. Since 2024, the city of Lexington and Undue Medical Debt have helped relieve $26 million in medical bills for 13,000 local patients, Lexington Vice Mayor Dan Wu told LEX News this week. The city allocated $1 million for the initiative, which will help relieve upwards of $90 million in debt.
"It's delivered really tangible results and relief for Lexington residents and to see this idea grow to a state level was super exciting," Wu said. "The biggest thing that attracted me to this program is the fact that we're getting 90 to 100 to 1 on our money. You're never going to get that kind of return on investment in almost anything else you do with tax dollars."
Wu said over the next two years of the city's contract with the nonprofit, he hopes 50,000 to 60,000 people in Lexington will receive letters saying their medical debt is eliminated.
"I think you can think about student debt and credit card debt in a certain way, but medical debt, nobody asks for medical debt. Nobody chose to go into debt for their health," Wu said.
For both the state and Lexington debt relief programs, there is no application process. Undue Medical Debt identifies qualifying accounts and sends letters in the mail. You can learn more about how the program works here.
Herring is using his own illness to help others. He runs a non-profit raising awareness about early on-set colorectal cancer called Help Kentucky. He told LEX News he does not know if he would ever qualify for the medical debt relief, but he remains hopeful about what the program means for other Kentuckians.
"It's really awesome. There's a lot of people who very much need it because this disease takes people down," Herring said. "It is very expensive to be sick. It's very expensive to stay alive as well."
