Crowdfunding is letting more and more patients cover the cost of expensive, experimental treatments in America, which has, of course, far and away the world’s most expensive healthcare system even exclusive of experimental treatments.
One way is to use GoFundMe.com.
Internationally, “medical crowdfunding campaigns on GoFundMe have jumped from just over 8,000 in 2011 to more than 740,000 this year, ” reports The Sacramento Bee.
“Some people donate a few dollars, some a few hundred. And patients’ loved ones often use social media to spread the word.
“It’s an easy site to use,” Mary Hyatt, a Sacramento multiple sclerosis patient whose sister started a campaign for her, told The Bee. “You can just put your story out there and you’re going to have a friend tell a friend. … If it’s a lot of people and a little money (per person), it’s easier to swallow for everybody.”
The campaigns range from funding to “help pay for potentially lifesaving experimental treatment, to smaller campaigns to pay for expensive medicine and related treatments not covered by insurance or time off from work.”
We at Cambridge Management Group are curious as to how much healthcare providers themselves are directing patients and their families toward crowdfunding, both out of sympathy and out of the desire to get paid.
