Despite having a health plan, many people across the country can’t afford the medical care they need.
Skyrocketing health insurance deductibles and copays are forcing many covered Americans to rely on charity to pay for medical care.
Crowdfunding and medical charities have become the norm to fill in gaps for insured Americans.
A recent LA Times report placed the spotlight on a growing trend among insured Americans. It showed that the cost associated with health insurance deductibles and copays can make medical care cost prohibitive even for Americans with medical plans. As a result, these covered individuals and families continue to rely on crowdfunding and medical charities to fill in their medical expense gaps.
While charities and crowdfunding have been used for quite some time to help people without insurance, the trend is shifting. Now that about ninety percent of the country has health insurance, people are still relying on charitable assistance in order to make it possible to pay the growing cost of deductibles on their plans. Over the last ten years, these out of pocket costs for covered people have more than tripled. The report stated that this has forced tens of millions of people across the country to have to delay medical care they need and make difficult sacrifices in order to be able to afford their medical bills.
The average health insurance deductibles for plans provided through an employer are $1,350.
This data was collected by nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation’s annual employer survey. Moreover, one in four people receiving their health insurance through an employer has deductibles at $2,000 or higher. This reflects a growing problem relating to underinsurance.
“It’s not the uninsured who are the problem,” said National Multiple Sclerosis Society Executive Vice President Bari Talente. “It’s the underinsured.”
Now, it is becoming commonplace for friends and family to come together to start trying to raise money for their loved ones who need to cover high deductibles and copays for their medical bills. Crowdfunding, fundraiser events, t-
shirt sales, and other types of online and social media campaigns are helping these individuals who have coverage but can’t cover the cost of their health insurance deductibles on their own.
