Medical crowdfunding rarely helps those who need it most

[DBoon]

Online crowdfunding for medical expenses raises less money than social media posts suggest and deepens health care inequities, a new study reports.

The first large-scale assessment of medical crowdfunding in the United States shows that people in states with higher medical debt and lower rates of insurance coverage are more likely to try to raise money through crowdfunding websites, but less likely to succeed. From 2016 through 2020, more medical campaigns on the crowdfunding site GoFundMe were started in low-income and under-insured communities, researchers report February 3 in the American Journal of Public Health. But campaigns in more affluent communities with higher rates of insurance coverage raised substantially more money.

The study matched state and county census data with outcomes from more than 437,000 GoFundMe campaigns over the five-year period. During that time, more than $2 billion was raised, with the median campaign earning just under $2,000. The study also found that 16 percent of campaigns raised nothing, while less than 12 percent met their goal.

“The returns were notably low compared with the needs people have for medical expenses,” says sociologist Mark Igra of the University of Washington in Seattle. “Even for those with insurance, it can be daunting. For those without insurance, it might be devasting.”

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/medical-gofundme-rarely-helps-most-needy

[PSPS]

1. It seems like GoFundMe has become the de-facto biggest insurance policy in the US.

[dalton99a]

2. Your chance of survival should not depend on your social media strength

[liberal N proud]

3. I lost two friends last week after long illness

They went broke fighting to stay alive, leaving a wives with a load of debt and unable to pay for funerals.

It's just wrong!