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A recent article published by Bloomberg suggests that an increasing number of Americans, even those with health insurance, are turning to crowdfunding services to fund their medical bills. Crowdfunding services work by soliciting online donations from thousands of other people. According to an article, 70 percent of YouCaring campaigns involve medical bills. GoFundMe’s CEO has also reported that medical bills have helped business boom.
While some people may successfully use crowdfunding to pay their medical bills, many others fail to reach their fundraising goals. According to a 2015 study released by NerdWallet, a financial analytics website, only 11 percent of crowdfunding campaigns for medical bills are successful. To be considered successful by the study, the campaign needed to meet its target goal. Fundraising goals also varied depending on the crowdfunding service.
An additional study conducted by the University of Washington discovered that only 10 percent of these campaigns met their target goals. In addition, the remaining campaigns analyzed by the study met 40 percent of their fundraising targets on average.
How Else Can I Get Rid of Past Due Hospital Bills?
While it cannot hurt to try and seek fundraising for your medical bills, there may be other options available. For example, you may be able to haggle the price down with the hospital or your insurance provider. In addition, you may request an itemized bill to look for billing errors. We have written prior blogs on how you might accomplish these goals.
Filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy or Chapter 13 bankruptcy is also an option. Medical bills are considered nonpriority unsecured debt in bankruptcy, and can be discharged outright in Chapter 7 bankruptcy or after completing a Chapter 13 repayment plan. Depending on the size of your medical bills and other factors, these may be the best options. The Kansas City bankruptcy attorneys at The Sader Law Firm can help you explore debt relief options for unaffordable medical bills.
