A 22-year-old man tragically died after he couldn’t afford his asthma inhaler when his insurance stopped covering it. Instead, he left the pharmacy with a cheaper emergency inhaler—later found empty by his father—which wasn’t enough to save him. This heartbreaking case is part of NBC News’ series exposing how people are suffering due to gaps in healthcare coverage.

Editor’s Note: This isn’t just a story about one person’s misfortune—it’s a glaring example of how systemic failures in healthcare can have deadly consequences. When life-saving medications become unaffordable, real people pay the price. It forces us to ask: How many others are risking their lives because they can’t afford basic care?