Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Growing Reliance On Charity, Crowd Funding To Pay For Medical Bills Means Stressed Patients, Inequities In Care
The new trend of relying on those strategies for those who are underinsured ends up giving an advantage to those with more resources, larger social networks and stories better suited to dramatic online appeals. “We shouldn’t be the solution,” said GoFundMe Chairman Rob Solomon. “We know we’ve become a kind of de facto safety net.… But we’re only scratching the surface of all the need out there.”
Los Angeles Times: Charity Becomes A Lifeline Even For Americans With Health Insurance As Deductibles Soar
Medical charities and crowdfunding have long helped fill the gaps for Americans who lack health coverage. Now, Americans who have insurance are increasingly turning to charity as a lifeline, as a revolution in health insurance has driven up deductibles more than threefold over the last decade, forcing tens of millions of Americans to delay care and make difficult sacrifices to pay medical bills. (Levey, 8/4)
Previous KHN coverage: GoFundMe CEO: ‘Gigantic Gaps’ In Health System Showing Up In Crowdfunding
This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
