What is Crowdfunding?
Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or enterprise by collecting small amounts of money from numerous people, typically via online platforms. In the past two decades the market of crowdfunding has been growing quickly; crowdfunding has become a new way to finance, for example, start-up companies, projects in the visual arts and music, technological innovation, scientific research, and community projects.
What is Medical Crowdfunding?
In recent years, crowdfunding for medical expenses has gained popularity, especially in countries without universal health coverage. Nevertheless, universal coverage or health insurance does not imply covering all medical costs for everyone. In countries with universal coverage unmet health care needs typically emerge due to financial reasons: the inability to pay the patient co-payments, and additional and experimental therapies not financed by the health insurance fund.
What Medical Treatments Can You Raise funds for?
We find that several conditions frequently listed in crowdfunding campaigns overlap with the most disabling conditions: cancer, mental disorders, musculoskeletal disorders, and neurological disorders. Nevertheless, there is no strong association between the disease burden and the condition which prompted individuals to ask for donations. Although oral health, lipoedema, and genetic disorders and rare diseases are not listed among leading causes of disability worldwide, these conditions frequently prompted individuals to turn to crowdfunding. Unmet needs are the highest for various therapies not financed by the health insurance fund; additional, complementary, and animal-assisted therapies are high on the wish list. Numerous people sought funds to cover the cost of scientifically poorly supported or unsupported therapies. In line with the social drift hypothesis, disability and bad health status being associated with poor socioeconomic status, affected individuals frequently collected donations for their living expenses.
Medical Crowdfunding In India And Its Goals & Objectives
In India, health insurance is still an unheard-of concept for many. As per the National Sample Survey’s 75th round (2017-18), more than 80% of India’s population does not have any health insurance coverage. Even where it is availed of, there is a limit to the claim amount a patient can access. The other 2 seemingly-last options for patients & their families is either applying to various government relief funds, or to a NGO. But during the ongoing pandemic, both these options were impacted. While NGOs had to close their offices during the lockdown, potential beneficiaries were unable to reach government offices who were at the forefront of pandemic-control measures.
Why Are People Choosing Medical Crowdfunding?
A 2018 study by the Public Health Foundation of India found that healthcare expenses had pushed 55 million Indians into poverty; that is 4.5% of India’s population (the study was based on 2012 figures). Although medical crowdfunding accounts for only a sliver of healthcare expenditure today, it offers a tantalising possibility — that technology and the Internet could unlock advanced medical treatment for needy families without pushing them into poverty. After all, free government healthcare seems neither sufficient nor good enough. The National Family Health Survey-4 shows that 56% of India’s urban population and 49% of the rural population seek private healthcare.
In India, the situation is no different, with the majority of the population being underinsured due to insufficient public healthcare schemes and expensive private healthcare options. India’s total healthcare spending at 3.6% of GDP is far lower than that of other major economies globally. The healthcare spending of other comparable nations— like Germany (11.2%), France (11.2%) Japan (10.9%), Brazil (9.2%), South Africa (8.1%), Russia (5.3%), and China (5%)— is far higher in terms of GDP percentage than that of India. Of that 3.6%, government spending is only 1.15% of GDP, which means close to two-thirds of India’s expenditure on health is paid out of pocket by the people. India currently ranks 184th out of 191 countries in terms of percent-of-GDP spending on health.
According to data from the Handbook on Indian Insurance Statistics for 2016-2017 by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), at least 988 million Indians (75 percent of all Indians) are not covered by any form of life insurance., With 82 percent of India’s workforce engaged in informal employment in the unorganized sector, 392.31 million workers and their families live under constant threat of financial instability due to unexpected medical emergencies. As per data from India’s largest national survey on key indicators of social consumption (2017-2018), only 10% of the poorest one-fifth of Indians in rural and urban India had any form of private or government health insurance, forcing them to borrow money, delay treatment, deplete their savings, or receive inadequate care. This has led to a catastrophic paradigm wherein over 63 million people are pushed into poverty every year due to healthcare expenses.
In the fall of 2018, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the world’s biggest universal healthcare experiment. His scheme aimed to grant 500 million people the entitlement to free health insurance by issuing e-cards, which people could use to claim insurance following a medical emergency. The Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Abhiyaan, also known as Ayushman Bharat or the National Health Protection Mission or Modicare, promised to cover medical expenses up to Rs 5 lakh (500,000) for secondary and tertiary healthcare to those eligible. Unfortunately, the scheme didn’t cover primary healthcare services, such as outpatient treatment. Many experts raised concerns about the scheme being inadequate for those needing advanced treatment.
How Does Medical Crowdfunding Work?
Cancer treatment and transplant surgeries in India can cost upwards of Rs 15 lakh (1.5 million), and Modicare only covers a part of the cost. To cover the rest of the treatment cost, families often end up selling or mortgaging their assets, exhausting all their savings, or borrowing money from lenders at high-interest rates. Moreover, there are many other problems with Modicare that need to be resolved before it can reach its full potential in terms of what it promises.
Primarily, the rates set for different medical procedures under Modicare are lower than the actual cost of the treatments. The Indian Medical Association has repeatedly expressed concerns that the amounts of money being offered to hospitals to treat patients under Modicare are too low and might eventually reduce the quality of treatments provided, making it unviable for hospitals to continue offering them. Such a model is unsustainable for smaller hospitals.
Best Medical Crowdfunding Site
The top three crowdfunding platforms in India (Ketto, Milaap, and ImpactGuru) raised Rs 271.65 crore (2.7 billion) in 2018. The amount was roughly 11% of the Rs 2,400 crore (24 billion) inaugural budget for Modicare— the government’s public healthcare scheme introduced in the same year. Together, Milaap and Ketto have raised over Rs 1000 crore (10 billion) for healthcare-related campaigns in the last five years, with a growth rate that doubles almost every year. Over 1,200 medical campaigns are started on Milaap every month, with a 3x growth per year on average. Ketto, on the other hand, hosts around 2,000 medical fundraisers per month and has seen a constant growth of 50% CAGR in the last five years.
Read Further: 10 Best Medical Crowdfunding Sites in India in 2022
What Are The Best Practices For Successful Medical Crowdfunding?
If you’re new to crowdfunding, you might not know how to set up a fundraiser for medical bills. While the below advice will help you create a compelling fundraiser, remember that the most important part is simply getting started.
1. Ask a trusted friend or family member to help write your fundraiser
Asking for help takes pressure off the patient, who should be focused on healing not raising money. You may find that someone else can often tell your story better than you. Having an outside perspective of what you’re going through can be beneficial when writing a fundraiser story.
2. Don’t be afraid to tell your story
While making yourself vulnerable can be scary, writing your fundraiser story honestly and thoroughly will help people connect to your cause. The more people can understand the reality of your medical situation, the more they’ll be willing to donate to your fundraiser. A unique fundraiser title can also help catch people’s attention right away and encourage them to read more about why you need financial help.
3. Tell your story through photos
When it comes to adding visual elements to your story, photos are powerful fundraising tools and can take your fundraiser to the next level. It can be difficult to post photos of yourself when going through such a difficult time, but photos can draw people into your world and allow them to empathize with your story.
Fundraisers that include multiple photos also raise significantly more than fundraisers that include only one. Including photos of medical bills may help people fully understand your plight, but you should cover or otherwise remove any sensitive information you don’t want shared.
4. Share your fundraiser on social media
Social media gives you the power to reach family, friends, and even strangers around the globe. The best way to get started is to ask your network of friends, family, neighbours, and co-workers to share your fundraiser on their social media accounts. Doing this can exponentially increase the number of people viewing your fundraiser.
When sharing with your own network, keep the social media post brief and always include a link to your fundraiser; this makes it easy for people to donate in just a few clicks.
5. Share beyond social media
While social media is an important part of fundraising success, fundraising without social media can extend your reach in different ways.
Personalized outreaches can make a huge difference when sharing your fundraiser. If you aren’t sure where to begin, start by emailing, texting, or calling a few close friends. Getting some initial support can encourage others to donate.
6. Keep everyone in the loop
As you begin to receive donations, your supporters will be curious about how you’re doing. Have their donations been helpful? Are the medical treatments going well? You can answer these questions through updates.
You can use updates as an opportunity to share progress, setbacks, or words of gratitude that will keep your supporters engaged with your cause.
7. Show your gratitude
It may seem trivial, but thanking your donors is one of the most important actions you can take when fundraising because it helps them feel appreciated. Thanking your donors can be as simple as posting a mass update to the fundraiser, or you can write individual donation thank-you letters for a personal touch that can have an even bigger impact.
Read Further: 7 Medical Crowdfunding Tips To Make Your Medical Fundraiser a Success!
Role of Medical Crowdfunding Platform
Since the emergence of online crowdfunding platforms, millions of medical campaigns have been started by people to fund their medical treatments. Sometimes, hospitals, clinics, NGOs, and universities have launched and promoted campaigns for patients to help them fund their treatment expenses. At a fundamental level, medical crowdfunding seeks to turn the crowd’s financial power into a safety net for those whom the public and private healthcare systems fail to support. It is a quick and often effective funding mechanism, offering people the opportunity of providing financial assistance to those in need with just a few clicks.
Read Further: 7 Fundraising Ideas You Can Try for Medical Expenses
Summary
Currently, the world is on the verge of creating a trillion-dollar crowdfunding market. In the future, the major drivers of the crowdfunding market will be artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain technology, improved internet access, and the proliferation of social media platforms. As technology allows for better access, efficiency, and transparency, platforms will benefit from strong network effects. The value of the platforms and the industry will be enhanced as the number of campaigns and contributors grows. Such a cycle would lead to a large number of consumers and investors participating in the crowdfunding market.
In conclusion, medical crowdfunding’s importance cannot be overstated. In fact, the Indian government agrees with us too: in a recent draft released by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, the ministry proposed to bring in crowdfunding as a voluntary scheme for those suffering from rare diseases. Crowdfunding’s inherent snowball effect is what makes it this special; a small contribution from many, can together snowball into the large amount needed by the patient.
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