The GoFundMe website was designed to help people fund their dreams and other important events in their lives but has become a serious life-sustaining tool for those who are facing tremendously costly medical bills. Whereas, initially, young people contributed to funding honeymoons and graduation meals, today it is an essential tool for patients trying to understand the US healthcare system.
A Disturbing Trend
The fact that I was able to find dozens of medical-related campaigns verified by GoFundMe in one week speaks for itself. Medical causes are just one example of a campaign theme. In 2020, alone, there were about 200,000 campaigns run in the U. S.. 25 times as many as in 2011. Such exponential increases paint a sad picture of how poor people are pushed deeper into hardship when they are faced with these diseases and other related illnesses.
Normalization of Crowdfunding
Hiring people to get medical care through crowdfunding is so longer seen as strange; it has become commonplace in today’s healthcare system. People have to crowdsource on GoFundMe for every possible surgery, at times, even for essential gene therapy. The acceptance of crowdfunding to address medical bills is a way of highlighting the inadequacies of the current structure of medical facilities.
A Last Resort
For, the GoFundMe accounts are a last resort for someone like Andrea Coy of Fort Collins, Colorado, with election to sinking under the burden of medical bills. When her son needed the expensive air-ambulance transport, Coy had to struggle for her family as she paid an outrageous amount and hence, she crowdsourced money. Although haggling with the doctors of the healthcare facilities and insurance firms was done to the extent, that the issue of the money was unbearable.
Socioeconomic Disparities
Research suggests that GoFundMe only exacerbates the existing prejudice in the healthcare system based on people’s economic status. The means and the social networking within the campaigns are key factors in the success of the Campaigns and lower-income and middle-class people are set up to fail. Not even the most well-known cases such as the medical crowdfunding campaign. For ex-Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton eliminates the inequality present in the process.
Challenges and Realities
In other words, while GoFundMe holds out hope for those struggling with medical costs. It does not offer a solution for social problems plaguing the field. Nevertheless, most campaigns fail to raise adequate funds and patients end up struggling with unbearable charges. However, they have also highlighted that for such a platform. Such an entity alone cannot ease many of the problems that beset the healthcare system.
A Call for Change
The prevalence of medical crowdfunding underscores the urgent need for systemic reform. As CEO Tim Cadogan acknowledges, GoFundMe cannot serve as a substitute for meaningful public policy. Addressing the root causes of exorbitant healthcare costs requires collective action and comprehensive reform.
A Bittersweet Victory
For individuals like Carol Justice, GoFundMe offers a temporary reprieve from financial ruin. Justice’s ordeal highlights the desperation faced by many Americans grappling with unexpected medical bills. While her story ultimately ends with relief from overwhelming debt. It serves as a sobering reminder of the systemic failures that necessitate crowdfunding in the first place.
As GoFundMe continues to serve as a lifeline for those in need. It is imperative to recognize its limitations and advocate for systemic change. No individual should have to resort to crowdfunding to access essential healthcare. It’s time for meaningful reform to ensure equitable access to healthcare for all.
