The New York City book publisher arranged to use money raised in her memory to buy up the medical debt of others – and then pay it off, according to a website which assisted her philanthropic effort and as of Friday had collected nearly all of her six-figure goal.
“A note to my friends: If you’re reading this, I have passed away,” read a recent post on McIntyre’s account at X – the social media platform formerly known as Twitter – which partly served to detail her campaign. “I’m so sorry. It’s horseshit and we both know it. The cause was stage four ovarian cancer.”
After describing how much she, her family and her friends loved each other, McIntyre’s account linked to her campaign at RIP Medical Debt’s website. Her accompanying farewell message added: “To celebrate my life, I’ve arranged to buy up others’ medical debt and then destroy the debt. I am so lucky to have had access to the best medical care at [the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York] and am keenly aware that so many in our country don’t have access to good care.”
Wow. What a legacy. The idea of medical debt for necessary treatment is so wild to me though.
I envy you. My partner is still paying off the attempted life saving medical efforts from their passed previous partner. Been almost a decade but here she is, still making monthly payments.
its the number 1 cause of personal bankruptcy in the united states. people go their whole lives saving, even having insurance and lose it all dying penniless.
yay free market.
It’s also a way that corporations aka wealthy people drain elderly people of their resources towards the end of their lives. Hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars that could have helped their children achieve some measure of financial independence instead goes to medical bills. This functions as a method of preventing generational wealth from accumulating, thus defeating class mobility.