In 2023, New York mother arranged a fundraiser to erase strangers' medical bills after her death

Before dying from stage four ovarian cancer at age 38, New York mother Casey McIntyre arranged a final message that turned her personal loss into financial relief for tens of thousands of strangers across the United States. By December 2024, the viral memorial campaign created in her honor had raised millions of dollars. The money allowed non-profit organization Undue Medical Debt to erase more than $120 million (£90 million) in unpaid healthcare bills. McIntyre, a publishing executive who lived in Brooklyn with her husband, Andrew Gregory, and their young daughter, died in November 2023. Before her death, she worked with her husband to create a debt jubilee fundraiser through Undue Medical Debt, which was formerly called RIP Medical Debt. "To celebrate my life, I've decided to buy up medical debt and then destroy it," read the message posted to her social media accounts after her death, as released by Undue Medical Debt.Rapid public response generates millionsThe campaign quickly connected with donors around the world. Within weeks of McIntyre's death, donations poured into the special fundraising page. The campaign passed its first goals within hours. According to press releases ...