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GoFundMe CEO: ‘Gigantic Gaps’ in Health System Showing Up in Crowdfunding

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Re: GoFundMe CEO: ‘Gigantic Gaps’ in Health System Showing Up in Crowdfunding

#31

Post by Brendinooo »

>Or the Tennessee couple who want to get pregnant, but whose insurance doesn’t cover the $20,000 worth of “medications, surgeries, scans, lab monitoring, and appointments [that] will need to be paid for upfront and out-of-pocket” for in vitro fertilization.

Would an ideal healthcare system cover in vitro for anyone, full stop? Took a buzz through the NHS requirements[0] and there are definitely restrictions. And in vitro is certainly not an uncontroversial procedure.

I just thought that was a strange example to use. There are always going to be gaps in what a health system will cover, right?

There's always gonna be a market for crowdfunding health stuff, and that's not inherently a bad thing. (Which is my only point, not trying to comment on the broader issue.)

[0]: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/ivf/availability/

Re: GoFundMe CEO: ‘Gigantic Gaps’ in Health System Showing Up in Crowdfunding

#32

Post by brodsky »

conanbatt wrote: post #29
sharkweek wrote: post #4

I like to write short stories in my free time. One that I’ve been working on over the last year is one where the concept of “crowdfunded healthcare” evolves into a dystopian game show where people go on TV and share their sob story on why they need money. Then the viewers at home get to choose who gets the show’s prize money each season through a bracket style voting system that crowns a champion at the end. I had to…

I think the exact opposite. Without that venue to ask for money the answer is: "get your affairs in order". What is your answer to heavy health expenditures/

Universal healthcare. It works well in the majority of civilized world.

Re: GoFundMe CEO: ‘Gigantic Gaps’ in Health System Showing Up in Crowdfunding

#33

Post by thomasfortes »

taxicabjesus wrote: post #12

In America health care is supposed to be as expensive as possible. People demand the system spare no expense on their care. I have some notes to write about "the predicaments of old people". Both my grandfathers lived an extra few years thanks to the pacemakers Medicare paid for. But they just suffered for those final years. A lot of old people's problems are related to excess alcohol consumption. IMHO, there would b…

> I think other countries' health systems are more careful about how they allocate their health resources [0].

Yeah, when you can go for free to a doctor your entire life and your prescriptions are free or subsidized because the government can negotiate prices in bulk, the end result is that you get better results spending less.

It's not perfect, but it leads to a better outcome than when people only see a doctor when it's an emergency because they are too afraid to go bankrupt or because they are poor enough that they can't even pay for a simple visit to do an yearly check up.

Re: GoFundMe CEO: ‘Gigantic Gaps’ in Health System Showing Up in Crowdfunding

#34

Post by conanbatt »

brodsky wrote: post #32
conanbatt wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the exact opposite. Without that venue to ask for money the answer is: "get your affairs in order". What is your answer to heavy health expenditures/

Universal healthcare. It works well in the majority of civilized world.

In universal care you dont get access to 'clinical trials and research and things like that, where people need access to leading-edge potential treatments'

You are also not eliminated the need to get funds, you are changing who you are asking them from. And let me tell you that government officials are seldom generous.

Re: GoFundMe CEO: ‘Gigantic Gaps’ in Health System Showing Up in Crowdfunding

#35

Post by ferros »

ddebernardy wrote: post #27
ferros wrote: post #2

I think this is a reflection of what people want to donate/contribute to as much as anything. I’d be keen to know what percent of listings are health related vs what percent of total money raised is health related.

> I think this is a reflection of what people want to donate/contribute to as much as anything. Just spitballing, but I'd think it's more of a reflection of how broken the US health care system is. A more interesting datapoint would be the health vs non-health money raised broken down by country.

> A more interesting datapoint would be the health vs non-health money raised broken down by country.

This!!

Re: GoFundMe CEO: ‘Gigantic Gaps’ in Health System Showing Up in Crowdfunding

#36

Post by temp1928384 »

I'm on insurance, and to be very real I have gotten bills in the past from providers that I never ended up paying. The reality is that this is more common than not...providers only collect some small % of the part of the bill the patient (and not insurance company) is responsible for. They usually end up selling this debt for pennies on the dollar to collections agencies.

Do I feel guilty? Not really. But the lesson is that the number you see on some bill from a hospital or provider is not non-negotiable, and in general unlike the IRS they don't exactly have any power to garner your wages to collect.

If you find yourself in a position where you're getting some ridiculous bill, you should definitely hire a trusted lawyer to negotiate down a bill on your behalf.

Re: GoFundMe CEO: ‘Gigantic Gaps’ in Health System Showing Up in Crowdfunding

#37

Post by Aloha »

Brendinooo wrote: post #31

>Or the Tennessee couple who want to get pregnant, but whose insurance doesn’t cover the $20,000 worth of “medications, surgeries, scans, lab monitoring, and appointments [that] will need to be paid for upfront and out-of-pocket” for in vitro fertilization. Would an ideal healthcare system cover in vitro for anyone, full stop? Took a buzz through the NHS requirements[0] and there are definitely restrictions. And in v…

From my perspective, it shouldn't. Yes, its cold and heartless to say so, but wanting children isn't a health issue.

Re: GoFundMe CEO: ‘Gigantic Gaps’ in Health System Showing Up in Crowdfunding

#38

Post by Judgmentality »

conanbatt wrote: post #34
brodsky wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Universal healthcare. It works well in the majority of civilized world.

In universal care you dont get access to 'clinical trials and research and things like that, where people need access to leading-edge potential treatments' You are also not eliminated the need to get funds, you are changing who you are asking them from. And let me tell you that government officials are seldom generous.

So you believe the US healthcare system is better than, say, the United Kingdom?

Re: GoFundMe CEO: ‘Gigantic Gaps’ in Health System Showing Up in Crowdfunding

#39

Post by Antoninus »

sharkweek wrote: post #4

I like to write short stories in my free time. One that I’ve been working on over the last year is one where the concept of “crowdfunded healthcare” evolves into a dystopian game show where people go on TV and share their sob story on why they need money. Then the viewers at home get to choose who gets the show’s prize money each season through a bracket style voting system that crowns a champion at the end. I had to…

check out https://watsi.org/

Re: GoFundMe CEO: ‘Gigantic Gaps’ in Health System Showing Up in Crowdfunding

#40

Post by drfuchs »

sharkweek wrote: post #4

I like to write short stories in my free time. One that I’ve been working on over the last year is one where the concept of “crowdfunded healthcare” evolves into a dystopian game show where people go on TV and share their sob story on why they need money. Then the viewers at home get to choose who gets the show’s prize money each season through a bracket style voting system that crowns a champion at the end. I had to…

Your idea of people competing for who has the biggest sob story is pretty much exactly the 1950’s TV show “Queen For A Day” (except that the studio audience did the voting).
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