As frustration with America\u2019s healthcare system grows, more people are looking for new ways to manage their medical expenses. One of the most talked-about alternatives is CrowdHealth, a startup that\u2019s trying to flip the traditional insurance model on its head. Instead of paying a large company to decide which medical costs it will cover, CrowdHealth invites members to support each other directly through a crowdfunding model. It\u2019s a bold idea that\u2019s attracting attention, and raising important questions about the future of healthcare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CrowdHealth was founded in 2021 by Andy Schoonover, a former healthcare executive who became disillusioned with traditional insurance after a personal experience. When his young daughter needed ear tubes, a simple and medically necessary procedure, his insurer refused to pay the $8,000 bill. This was despite the fact that he was already paying $1,200 a month for family insurance coverage. \u201cI said to them, \u2018Look, if you\u2019re not willing to pay my bills, I won\u2019t pay your bill,\u2019\u201d Schoonover recalled. He dropped his insurance, started paying doctors directly in cash, and began thinking about a better way to handle major health costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That thinking led to the creation of CrowdHealth, which Schoonover describes as \u201ca completely different way to pay for healthcare.\u201d He says the platform is designed to \u201ctreat people like real people, like extensions to our family,\u201d instead of forcing them to deal with \u201ccold, oftentimes unreliable\u201d insurance companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CrowdHealth is not health insurance. It\u2019s a community-based platform that allows members to fund each other\u2019s medical bills. Every month, members pay a $55 administrative fee, called an \u201cAdvocacy Fee,\u201d which gives them access to the platform, along with personal support from Care Advocates. These advocates help members find doctors, negotiate bills, and make healthcare decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to the monthly fee, members agree to contribute to the medical expenses of other members when needed. These contributions are capped depending on age and family size. A single adult under age 55 can expect to pay no more than $140 per month, while a family of four pays a maximum of $420. According to CrowdHealth, \u201cmembers assist other members with their health care expenses,\u201d and all of this is managed through the platform, which handles money transfers from contributors to recipients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When a member has a medical expense, they\u2019re encouraged to tell providers they are paying in cash, ask for a discount, and then submit the receipts to CrowdHealth. If the expense meets the platform\u2019s guidelines, it is shared with the rest of the community. Contributions are voluntary, but those who don\u2019t contribute risk damaging their \u201cgenerosity score,\u201d which affects whether others will contribute to their expenses in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For many members, CrowdHealth offers both financial relief and a sense of purpose. Geoff Perlman, a tech CEO from Austin, Texas, joined the platform in 2022. When his 20-year-old son broke his arm, the cost of care was covered by contributions from strangers in the CrowdHealth community. \u201cYou have a feeling you\u2019re part of a community and you\u2019re looking out for them,\u201d Perlman said. \u201cIt feels like the money I am paying is helping other people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before joining CrowdHealth, Perlman had tried other health-sharing models, including Liberty HealthShare, which covered his wife\u2019s $1.2 million breast cancer treatment after negotiating the cost down to $217,000. But when Liberty raised its prices, he looked for alternatives and found CrowdHealth. He now pays about $226 per month for membership, plus $185 to $386 in monthly contributions toward others\u2019 care. Compared to the $2,000 per month he used to pay for insurance, he says, \u201cMy payments have gone down by about one-third since I signed up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Others echo his experience. Brooks Lockett, a self-employed marketing consultant, was paying $450 a month for traditional health insurance and still received surprise bills. \u201cThe system seemed tailored for large corporations with the capacity to negotiate better rates, leaving freelancers and self-employed people like me at a disadvantage,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lockett tested CrowdHealth by keeping his insurance and trying both systems. When he needed a knee aspiration after a rock climbing injury, he used CrowdHealth instead of insurance. Though initially quoted $800, he paid just over $300 thanks to a cash-pay discount. \u201cDoctors gave me fair prices without the red tape,\u201d he said. \u201cIt felt like it brought back their humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While CrowdHealth has won over many members, it\u2019s not for everyone. The company has strict eligibility requirements: it does not accept smokers, men who weigh over 260 pounds, women over 220 pounds, or anyone over the age of 65. It also doesn\u2019t cover certain medical services like acupuncture, chiropractic care, fertility treatments, long-term prescriptions, or procedures related to preexisting conditions during a new member\u2019s first nine months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are also limits to how much members can rely on the system. CrowdHealth does not guarantee that every claim will be paid. Because the platform isn\u2019t regulated like traditional insurance, there\u2019s no state authority to turn to if a claim is denied. This makes the system riskier, especially for people with ongoing medical needs. Michelle Long, a senior policy expert at KFF, warned, \u201cYou just can\u2019t anticipate everything that will happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another concern is sustainability. Larry Levitt, Executive Vice President for Health Policy at KFF, pointed out that \u201cventures like this work until they don\u2019t.\u201d With only a few thousand members, a small number of large claims could potentially overwhelm the system. And while CrowdHealth promotes its success in lowering costs through cash negotiations, some experts question whether those discounts are as deep and consistent as the company claims. Katherine Hempstead, a senior policy advisor at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, said, \u201cYou can get cash discounts on healthcare services, but I\u2019m not sure you can do it at the levels CrowdHealth claims.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CrowdHealth appeals most to people who are young, healthy, and willing to take an active role in managing their healthcare. Kyle Ward, a Texas resident, went without health insurance for 10 years because he didn\u2019t think it was worth the cost. Even with a $44,000 salary, he faced a $300 monthly premium and a $7,000 deductible through the ACA marketplace. Instead, he chose to invest that money and pay cash for care. \u201cTraditional health insurance is not working,\u201d Ward said. \u201cMaybe I\u2019ve bought into the sales pitch, but CrowdHealth makes sense to me financially and morally.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Ward needed frequent colonoscopies for a preexisting condition, he knew CrowdHealth wouldn\u2019t cover them. Still, the platform helped him find a provider who charged just $950 for the procedure, far less than he would have paid through insurance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CrowdHealth also has the support of people interested in financial innovation. Schoonover often appears on podcasts focused on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. The company even lets members invest part of their monthly payments into Bitcoin through a partnership with Swan Bitcoin, launched in October 2022. This has helped CrowdHealth find fans among people who are already skeptical of large institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CrowdHealth\u2019s peer-to-peer model may remind some of the way Amish communities handle medical expenses. In those groups, individuals cover a portion of their own bills, and the rest is funded by friends and neighbors. But that model works in part because of tight community ties and shared values. CrowdHealth is trying to recreate that spirit on a national scale among strangers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whether that\u2019s sustainable in the long term remains to be seen. CrowdHealth is still a small player, especially when compared to large religious health-sharing ministries, which together serve hundreds of thousands of people. However, unlike those ministries, CrowdHealth has no religious affiliation and offers a more modern, tech-enabled experience. Schoonover hopes to grow the community to 100,000 members within three years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve seen real evidence that, once people are responsible for their own bills, their behavior changes,\u201d Schoonover said. \u201cYou get healthier. The bills come down.\u201d He believes that when patients deal directly with doctors, without insurance companies in the middle, everyone benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CrowdHealth won\u2019t be the right choice for everyone. People with chronic conditions, those who prefer guaranteed coverage, or those who aren\u2019t comfortable negotiating prices may want to stick with traditional insurance or explore ACA marketplace plans, many of which are available at little or no cost thanks to government subsidies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But for people willing to take more responsibility for their healthcare, and who are comfortable with some uncertainty, CrowdHealth offers a new kind of safety net. As Perlman, the Austin CEO, put it: \u201cIt feels like the money I am paying is helping other people.\u201d For him, and for a growing number of others, that sense of connection may be worth more than a traditional insurance card.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As frustration with America\u2019s healthcare system grows, more people are looking for new ways to manage their medical expenses. One of the most talked-about alternatives is CrowdHealth, a startup that\u2019s trying to flip the traditional insurance model on its head. Instead of paying a large company to decide which medical costs it will cover, CrowdHealth invites members to support each other directly through a crowdfunding model. It\u2019s a bold idea that\u2019s attracting attention, and raising important questions about the future […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6522,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-preventative-care","category-wellness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6521","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6521"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6521\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6523,"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6521\/revisions\/6523"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}