One out of every three pages on GoFundMe are for raising money for medical treatments, according to a Monday Minnesota Public Radio News article.
“In the old paradigm you would give $20 to somebody who needed help. In the new paradigm, you’ll give $20, you’ll share that and that could turn into 10, 20, 50 or 100 people doing that. So, the $20 could turn in hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars,” GoFundMe CEO Rob Solomon told MPR News.
A possible reason for the massive amount of health care fundraising pages could be an increase in co-pays and deductibles, economist Sara Collins of the Commonwealth Fund told MPR. (RELATED: Pfizer Plant Problems Are Causing Serious Drug Shortages In Hospitals)
GoFundMe pages raise over $650 million per year for medical expenses, according to a page on the website.
One page, “Hanna’s Emergency Cancer Surgery,” raised $224,448 in three months for surgery to remove a cancerous mass from Hanna Wilt, a Georgia college student’s, abdomen. The surgery was not covered by Wilt’s insurance because it would be performed out of state.
Wilt got the surgery and is currently recovering as of May, according to the fundraiser page.
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