Huffington Post highlights the GoFundMe reality of healthcare costs
Out of $5 billion raised on the crowdfunding site GoFundMe since 2010, one-third has been designated to pay for medical bills. The sky-high costs of receiving medical care and the reality of asking for help to pay those bills are being highlighted by The Huffington Post in a series titled “Life and Death: Stories from Inside America’s GoFundMe Health Care System.”
“These are not feel-good stories,” the introduction reads, describing how the focus on generosity of individuals giving money to save lives and pay for care in the media is wrong. Rather, the focus could be on the “systemic failures” of the healthcare system in the U.S. to provide affordable and quality care.
In the last year, $88 billion was borrowed by Americans to pay for medical bills, according to a recent survey from West Health/Gallup survey.
The Huffington Post’s highlights of some of these stories bring to light these profiles and what they reveal “about the shortcomings of the American healthcare system.” The reports come at a time when lawmakers are considering solutions to tackling “surprise billing,” in which patients receive expensive bills weeks or months later for care they received. Often the bills are a result of out-of-network care that patients weren’t aware wasn’t covered under their insurance.
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Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."