GoFundMe Is Not A Solution For Healthcare

Charity is a good thing, and there will always be a role for it.

However — voluntary donations cannot make up for our stingy healthcare system.

When GoFundMe contributions provide care for a sick child, that does not excuse our country’s lack of national health insurance or paid sick leave.

  GoFundMe is currently bragging that it has raised over $30 billion — over its entire existence, for all kinds of needs…

To which I answer….Big deal! This is less than 10% of our annual national out-of-pocket healthcare expenses. It is, at best, putting a band-aid on a gaping wound.

Besides — most of GoFundMe’s users do not get the funds they need when they use the platform.

Industry analysts estimate that only about 17% of GoFundMe campaigns for health care and emergency costs meet their goal.

About 40 percent of campaigns raised less than $70.  

Crowdfunding works best when there’s a crowd willing and able to help, which usually begins with family, friends, and acquaintances.

 But if your family and friends are broke  — maybe like you — then there’s little help to be had, no matter how good your campaign is or how deftly you promote it.

 Given the U.S. healthcare economy today, there are far more deserving people out there than could ever possibly “win” at GoFundMe. 

 Beware of Fraud

As with any other way of soliciting donations, GoFundMe attracts scammers trying to exploit the generosity of donors. 

 All the usual cautions apply:

• To whom are you donating? Are you sure of the solicitor’s identity? Could it be someone masquerading as someone else? 
• How do you know that the money you donate will be spent appropriately? 
• Are you aware that the crowdfunding platform charges a fee per donation or a percentage of each donation (or both).
•  Crowdfunding platforms typically charge between 4% and 20%; the credit card processor may charge a fee on top of that. 

And here is a special caution:

Crowdfunding can potentially make it difficult to maintain eligibility for Medicaid and other income-based programs. 

This is because the funds raised through crowdfunding can increase a person’s income or assets beyond the eligibility threshold.

Overall –When health relies on the charity of a digital crowd, it creates and exacerbates deep inequities. This is drastically inferior to universal, rights-based systems of healthcare. 

As Ralph Nader argues, “a society that has more justice . . . needs less charity.”