“They stopped my medicine and everything… My heart is no longer doable.” These were the final, heart-wrenching words of Kierra Campbell, a 27-year-old mother of seven from Cincinnati, Ohio, who passed away after her life-saving heart medication was discontinued due to a lapse in insurance coverage.
Kierra Campbell was diagnosed with chronic heart failure several years ago, a condition that worsened dramatically in the months leading up to her death. By July 2025, her heart was functioning at just 10% capacity, and she had been hospitalized for over a month at The Christ Hospital in Cincinnati. She relied on two intravenous medications, dobutamine and milrinone, to keep her heart pumping and sustain her life. These critical drugs, however, came with a staggering cost of $1,000 per week—a price Kierra could not afford when her insurance was abruptly terminated.
The loss of her insurance stemmed from a missed child support hearing, which triggered a sanction that halted her coverage. To reinstate her insurance, Kierra was required to navigate a bureaucratic maze: filling out paperwork, waiting for a court hearing, and attending it in person. Confined to her hospital bed, tethered to life-sustaining IVs, she was physically unable to comply with these demands. The system’s rigidity left her without access to the medication she desperately needed.
In a final plea for help, Kierra launched a GoFundMe campaign, hoping to raise enough money to cover three weeks of medication—time she believed would allow her to resolve the insurance issue and return home to her children. “I’m still gonna fight,” she wrote in a heartbreaking message shared widely on social media. “I’m so unhappy right now. Please just pray for me.” Her story, amplified by advocate Ebonie Marie Baxter on Facebook, sparked outrage and grief across communities, shining a spotlight on the systemic failures that contributed to her tragedy.
Despite her determination, Kierra’s time ran out. On July 26, 2025, she passed away, leaving behind seven children and a grieving family. Her GoFundMe, originally created to fund her medication, has since been redirected to support her children, who now face life without their mother.
Kierra’s death is not just a personal tragedy but a stark indictment of a healthcare system where bureaucratic red tape and financial barriers can turn a missed court date into a death sentence. Black women, like Kierra, face disproportionate risks, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noting they are three times more likely to die from heart disease-related complications than white women. Factors such as limited access to timely care, affordable medication, and adequate insurance exacerbate these outcomes, compounded by systemic inequities and racial bias in healthcare.
Her story has prompted a surge of support for her family and renewed calls for reform. Advocates argue that no one should lose their life because they cannot afford essential medication or navigate an unforgiving system. Kierra Campbell deserved more time, more care, and a chance to live for her children. Her loss serves as a powerful reminder of the urgent need to fix a system that too often fails those it is meant to protect.