GoFundMe campaigns for medical costs are rarely successful, with only 12 percent meeting their goals in 2020, a Feb. 3 study published in the American Journal of Public Health found.
The study used data from more than 437,000 medical GoFundMe campaigns in the U.S. from 2016 to 2020. It also used data at the state and county levels to determine if crowdfunding use and earnings were higher in locations with more medical debt, uninsured populations and poverty.
In that time period, more than $2 billion was raised from 21.7 million donations. Returns from the campaigns were extremely unequal, the study found. In 2020, areas with more medical debt, higher insurance rates and lower incomes especially raised less money.
Sixteen percent of the campaigns didn't receive any donations, the study also found.
"Despite its popularity and portrayals as an ad-hoc safety net, medical crowdfunding is misaligned with key indicators of health financing needs in the United States," the study concluded.