It’s no surprise that healthcare costs are on the rise in America. After all, healthcare in the US costs about twice as much as it does in any other developed country. Deductibles and premiums increase each year and the cost of healthcare can quickly become a burden for people who are really sick. Costs can quickly wipe out savings and people often skimp on the appropriate care to save money or because they don’t have the resources in the first place.

So now, many people are now turning to crowdfunding sources like GoFundMe to raise money to pay for medical costs. People who have chronic medical conditions and need to make special trips to hospitals are among those who use the website to raise money. One such person who was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder that required multiple trips to the Mayo Clinic was assisted by her friend Tammy Fox who wanted to help ease the financial burden. Fox said, “You’ve got meals, you’ve got hotel stays and, like I said, gas so that all needed to be covered.” So it’s not just medical costs that contribute to these stays, you also need to factor in travel, time, and lodging. These costs can add up if you are making multiple trips throughout the year.

There are hundreds and hundreds of examples of people who are raising money on this website. There is a three year old from Florida with a genetic disorder which makes him susceptible to bone breaks. His relatives have raised more than $30,000 of their $40,000 goal.

A man from South Carolina with prostate cancer and no health insurance has asked for help as his bills pile up. He asked for $50,000 and he has since collected more than $85,000.

Another woman in North Carolina who lost nearly all her hearing after a traumatic brain injury is raising money to pay for procedures that her insurance won’t cover. People from all over the country, of all different ages are turning to this website for help.

GoFundMe CEO Rob Solomon said that medical fundraisers now account for 1 in 3 of the website’s campaigns and they bring in more money than any other GoFundMe category. There are over 250,000 medical campagins per year raising $650 million each year. Many of these contributions come from complete strangers. The power of social media has allowed people to share the GoFundMe stories online and people can contribute anonymously.

While Americans were required to purchase insurance under the Affordable Care Act, many Americans simply could not afford it. And even if they could afford insurance, some carriers don’t cover procedures or medications that can be costly. In 2018, the average silver based plan for a 40 year old is close to $6,000 yearly and the average deductible is $4,000. For older individuals, the cost is much higher.

Individuals making just one dollar over $48,560 do not qualify for premium tax credits that help bring down the cost of insurance. If insurance and deductibles are $10,000 per year, that equates to about 17% for someone with the estimated median household income of $59,000. After housing, food, and transportation, the average household simply cannot afford to shell out that money for medical care.

So is this the new norm to pay for health insurance costs? Hopefully not. What this shows it that our healthcare system needs to be fixed. The amount spent on overhead in this country is nearly $300 billion dollars. Nearly one quarter of healthcare costs goes towards administrative expenses. Drugs costs and defensive medicine also contribute to the high cost of healthcare. While it is great that strangers are helping raise money for each other to pay for medical costs, GoFundMe is just a band-aid on a bigger wound.