US mother who died from ovarian cancer helps wipe out millions in medical debts
A posthumous appeal by a US woman who died from cancer has raised enough money in less than a week to wipe out million of dollars in medical debt.
Casey McIntyre told followers in a social media message posted by her husband that she had arranged to pay bills owed by others as a way of celebrating her life.
While she had good health insurance cover, the New York City couple has seen some “terrifying” costs on paperwork for her care and wanted to assist those saddled by hefty charges.
Writing on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, Ms McIntrye posted, “if you’re reading this I have passed away”.
She added: “I loved each and every one of you with my whole heart and I promise you, I knew how deeply I was loved.
“To celebrate my life, I’ve arranged to buy up others’ medical debt and then destroy the debt.”
The posts included a link to a fundraising campaign started through the non-profit RIP Medical Debt.
Ms McIntyre’s husband, Andrew Rose Gregory, posted the messages on Tuesday following her death on Sunday, and the campaign quickly exceeded its $20,000 (£16,000) goal and now tops more than $170,000 (£136,000) – enough to buy around $17m (£13.6m) in medical debt.
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Mr Gregory said: “What resonated for me and Casey is, you know, there’s good cancer treatment out there that people can’t afford.
“Instead of dreaming of a cure for cancer, what if we could just help people who are being crushed by medical debt?”
The couple started planning the debt-buying campaign after she almost died in May. Pic: AP
Patients in the US healthcare system can quickly rack up big bills that push them into debt even if they have insurance.
This is especially true for people who need hospital treatment, regular care or prescriptions for chronic health problems.
A 2022 analysis of government data from the non-profit KFF estimates nearly one in 10 US adults owe at least $250 (£200) in medical debt.
Of those 23 million people, some 11 million owe more than $2,000 (£1,600).
RIP Medical Debt erases debt bought from hospitals, other health care providers and the secondary debt market.
It buys millions of dollars of debt in bundles for what it says is a fraction of the original value.
The group says every dollar donated buys about $100 (£80) in debt, and it aims to help people with lower incomes.
Ms McIntyre with her daughter, Grace. Pic: AP
Spokesman Daniel Lempert said the organisation has never had a campaign where someone plans for it to start after their death.
Ms McIntyre, who was a book publisher, started treatment for ovarian cancer in 2019.
She spent about three months in the hospital over the past year, her husband said.
The couple started planning for her memorial and the debt-buying campaign after she almost died in May.
They were inspired by a video they saw of North Carolina churchgoers burning about $3m (£2.4m) in medical debt.
Ms McIntyre spent the last five months in home hospice care, giving her what Mr Gregory called a “bonus summer.”
She went on beach trips and spent time with their family, including the couple’s 18-month-old daughter, Grace.
He said: “Casey was very, very sick at the end of her life, and she couldn’t finish everything she wanted to finish.
“But I knew she wanted to do this memorial and debt jubilee. So I set that up and… did it the way I thought she would have wanted.”
Americans are choosing their new president today.
Either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump will be the new occupant of the White House in January.
For many people, their vote will make little difference.
The main crunch points are in seven states and one inner state district.
In the following game, you can predict who will win in each swing state.
We will tell you at the end who the new president will be – if you have made correct predictions.
Good luck!
Voters across 50 states are preparing to cast their ballots after a bitterly contested US election campaign, which will see Donald Trump or Kamala Harris become president.
In the last few hours, both candidates have been giving their final pitches. “The momentum is on our side,” Ms Harris told a crowd in Philadelphia that chanted back, “We will win”.
“Tonight, then, we finish as we started: with optimism, with energy, with joy,” she said, while enjoying the support of celebrity endorsements on the day from Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Jon Bon Jovi.
In contrast, Mr Trump ended his campaign in Michigan, repeating key messages about the economy and immigration.
A handful of states will play a crucial role in determining the outcome of the election. Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin hold the keys to the White House.
To become president, the winning candidate needs 270 electoral votes or more, with each state carrying a different number of votes.
But the focus has been on Pennsylvania which carries 19 electoral votes, the most of all the swing states.
It has been a remarkable journey for both candidates – with Mr Trump surviving two assassination attempts and Ms Harris not even originally in the running.
Katy Perry performed in Pittsburgh in support of Kamala Harris. Pic: AP
For more than a year, the 2024 presidential race seemed destined for a rematch between Joe Biden and Mr Trump – but a disastrous TV debate by Mr Biden eventually forced him to withdraw from the ticket.
The Democratic party’s decision to replace Mr Biden with his vice president transformed the race and shifted polls in Ms Harris’s favour. But only just.
Many polls are too tight to call and, with a large margin of error, most experts are refusing to predict the outcome.
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Later, attention will turn to those battleground states including Georgia, which is among the first polls to close at 7pm local time (midnight UK time).
State election officials told Sky News they could have a result as early as 10pm (3am UK time).
Even so, it could be several days before the US has a definitive result.
Voters are not just selecting a president. In addition, 10 states will hold abortion-related ballots, half of which would overturn existing restrictions.
Predict who you think will win in each swing state and we’ll tell you who the president will be if you’re right.
Tonight, Sky News will have access to the most comprehensive exit poll and vote-counting results from every state, county and demographic across America through its US-partner network NBC.
You can find out more about Sky News’ coverage here.
US
Voter in UK ‘terrified’ by US election legal battle, as up to 4,000 ballots challenged in Pennsylvania
Up to 4,000 people voting overseas in the US election are having their ballots challenged in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
They include Selma Aldi, 47, from Camden in north London who received a letter on Sunday explaining that her ballot in the US presidential election is at risk of being rejected.
“It was a shock,” she said. “It was terrifying to be targeted, to potentially lose a right that I hold as very important. It’s even a feeling that someone is questioning my identity.”
The trainee GP, who grew up in Hershey, Pennsylvania left America in 2000 but has voted via absentee ballot in every US presidential election since.
A letter from election officials in Dauphin County outlines the legal challenge. It reads: “The applicant is not registered to vote and therefore is not eligible to vote in Pennsylvania.
“Under Pennsylvania law, it is a felony to permit any person to vote who is not registered.”
A hearing on the legal challenge is scheduled for Friday, in which Ms Aldi can respond.
Around 2.8 million US citizens living abroad are entitled to vote in the election, no matter where they are on polling day.
But each state has different procedures and rules on how election paperwork can be sent and received.
Selma Aldi on her graduation from the University of Pennsylvania, seated next to a figure of Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the US.
But Ari Savitzky, senior staff Attorney at the ACLU said “any attempt to challenge [voters] eligibility is a clear violation of their rights”.
He told Sky News: “Between 3,000 and 4,000 challenges have been filed in Pennsylvania to the absentee ballots of US citizens living abroad.
“For decades, federal law has guaranteed the right of US citizens living abroad to vote in federal elections at their last US residence.
“In addition to being legally baseless, these challenges are an abuse to voters and to election administrators.”
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Deborah Hinchey from another voting rights group, All Voting is Local, said: “Election deniers across Pennsylvania have submitted thousands of mass challenges to overseas voters.
“They want to block as many ballots as possible and silence our voices… but these baseless challenges have failed before and the proper checks and balances are in place to make sure they’ll fail again,” she added.
Tonight, Sky News will have access to the most comprehensive exit poll and vote-counting results from every state, county and demographic across America through its US-partner network NBC.
You can find out more about Sky News’ coverage here.
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