Insured Americans are relying more on charity to pay for healthcare due to their high-deductible health plans, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Five takeaways:
1. A Kaiser Family Foundation report published last year found a 22 percent increase in the number of workers with high-deductible health plans since 2009.
2. As patients grapple with higher out-of-pocket costs, they are relying more on charity efforts, such as a benefit concert or an online GoFundMe campaign, the Los Angeles Times reported.
3. According to GoFundMe, the crowdsourcing website helps raise more than $650 million representing 250,000-plus medical campaigns annually.
4. Healthcare groups such as the American Cancer Society and Susan G. Komen report that insured Americans make up the primary portion of calls they receive seeking help, according to the Los Angeles Times.
5. A U.S. Treasury Department analysis cited by the newspaper found Americans relying on charity also use patient assistance programs from foundations set up by pharmaceutical companies to help them afford medicine, and industry support for such programs exceeds $7 billion annually.
Read the full Los Angeles Times report here.
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