About one in four Americans report that the biggest worry they face is the high cost of healthcare. Because of this, many are turning to GoFundMe to fill in the gaps left by their health insurance.
The largest, online, crowd-sourced fundraising platform, GoFundMe reports that during the eight years it has existed, people have raised more than $5 billion from about 50 million donations for various causes.
With the high cost of healthcare, many Americans cant afford insurance at all. Setting up a GoFundMe page has become a popular way for people with or without health insurance to raise money to help pay doctors and other health providers.
Many have health insurance plans that requires thousands of dollars before the coverage takes effect. Unfortunately, more than 40 percent of 152 million Americans who receive health insurance through their work are in the same predicament.
GoFundMe CEO Rob Solomon says that medical fundraisers, which bring in more money than any other GoFundMe category, account for 1 in 3 of the sites campaigns.
In a recent survey, when working-age Americans were asked whether they could afford an unexpected medical bill of $1,000 in 30 days, almost half said they couldnt.
Collins says that it should be no surprise that people are turning to raising money through crowdsourcing, but it really should be a deep concern for policymakers and providers.
GoFundMe previously kept about 5 percent of fundraising proceeds, along with charging a 3 percent credit card processing fee. Although it still charges the credit card fee, it no longer collects 5 percent of the fundraising proceeds.
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