Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear signed an executive order on September 15, 2026, launching the Team Kentucky Medical Debt Relief Program to erase $250 million in medical debt for more than 130,000 state residents. The state allocated $2.5 million in funding to Undue Medical Debt, a national nonprofit, which specializes in purchasing and forgiving bundled medical debt from creditors on behalf of qualifying residents. This program erases existing medical debt without requiring an application from residents. Eligible Kentuckians will receive automatic notification letters identifying which debts have been forgiven and which creditors are involved.
Table of Contents
- Who Qualifies for Debt Relief
- How Debt Relief Automatically Works
- How Undue Medical Debt Makes This Possible
- What This Program Does Not Cover
- How to Verify Your Status and Get Information
- Frequently Asked Questions
Who Qualifies for Debt Relief
You qualify for Kentucky's medical debt relief if you meet either of these criteria: you owe at least 5% of your annual household income in medical bills, or you earn at or below 400% of the federal poverty level. For a family of three, 400% of the federal poverty level is approximately $100,000 annually.
The program targets residents with medical debt burdens that consume a meaningful portion of their income, not isolated bills. If you have accumulated significant medical bills from hospital care, surgeries, emergency room visits, or ongoing treatment, your debt likely meets the threshold.
How Debt Relief Automatically Works
You do not need to apply or submit paperwork to receive this relief. Eligible residents will receive official letters identifying which debts have been erased and which creditors are involved. The state and Undue medical debt handle the entire process—finding eligible residents, purchasing their debt, and notifying them of forgiveness.
When you receive your notification letter, it will specify the exact medical bills that are no longer your responsibility. After that, you will not owe payment on those debts to the listed creditors. If those debts already appear on your credit report, you may want to request a correction from the credit bureau once the debt is forgiven, though the forgiveness itself should appear automatically over time.
How Undue Medical Debt Makes This Possible
Undue Medical Debt is a nonprofit organization that purchases medical debt from creditors at a steep discount. The organization has previously partnered with states including Arizona, Illinois, and North Carolina to purchase and forgive medical debt. Kentucky's $2.5 million investment yields a debt erasure of $250 million—approximately $100 in medical debt forgiven for every $1 spent.
This model works because medical debt is often sold by hospitals and creditors to debt buyers at a fraction of face value. Undue Medical Debt purchases bundles of this debt specifically targeting lower-income individuals, then forgives it rather than collecting it. By concentrating its spending on eligible Kentucky residents, the nonprofit can stretch the state's funding across more than 130,000 people.
What This Program Does Not Cover
This program forgives past medical debt but does not prevent future medical bills from accumulating. If you receive treatment after the program's debt purchase cutoff, any new bills will not be covered by this relief. This is a one-time effort to address existing medical debt, not an ongoing insurance or assistance program. The program focuses on purchasing consumer debt that has been sold to third-party buyers, not debt still owed directly to hospitals.
Hospitals operate their own charity care and financial hardship programs. If you owe money directly to a hospital, ask about those programs separately; you may qualify for free or reduced care retroactively depending on your income.
How to Verify Your Status and Get Information
Additional program information is available at the official state website MedicalDebtRelief.ky.gov. Monitor your mail for official notification letters from the program. Do not respond to unsolicited calls or emails claiming to help you claim this relief—legitimate notification will arrive as an official state letter. If you have questions about your specific debt or eligibility, contact the state's medical debt relief helpline through the official website. Verify any contact information through the state's official channels, not through third-party websites offering to "help" you access the program.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will this relief hurt my credit score?
The forgiveness of existing debt may actually improve your credit over time as the debt is removed from your report. Credit improvement timing varies by bureau and can take several months to reflect.
Do I need to do anything to receive this debt relief?
No. Eligible residents will receive automatic notification letters. You do not need to apply, fill out forms, or contact anyone to participate.
Can this program forgive medical debt I still owe directly to a hospital?
This program focuses on medical debt that has been sold to third-party collectors. Debt owed directly to hospitals falls under those facilities' charity care and financial hardship programs, which operate separately.
What if I disagree with the debts listed in my notification letter?
Contact the state program through the official MedicalDebtRelief.ky.gov website to dispute the information. Do not respond to any non-official contact.