knowledge -WSS

knowledge

author：entertainment 2025-09-29 01:07:19 - browse：6

Five people put coins in a box containing coins and cash on stage — coverage from STAT — Adobe

In the United States, health care costs are so out of control that medical crowdfunding has become commonplace. The idea is simple: turn your social network into a financial safety net to cover the cost of expensive treatments or long illnesses. Millions of Americans have started crowdfunding campaigns for medical bills, and tens of millions have donated to them, mostly through the undisputed sector leader, GoFundMe.

Nora Kenworthy, a nursing and health studies professor at the University of Washington, Bothell, has spent years studying the world of crowdfunding for health care — along with the way it ends up amplifying the inequities that already dictate who goes into medical debt.

In her new book, “Crowded Out: The True Costs of Crowdfunding Healthcare,” which will be released on Tuesday, she looks at what she calls the “toxicities” that drive medical crowdfunding campaigns. STAT spoke with Kenworthy about those issues, as well as the difficult moral decisions potential donors face when deciding whether to contribute. The following interview is condensed and edited for clarity.

STAT+ Exclusive Story

Already have an account? Log in

This article is exclusive to STAT+ subscribers

Unlock this article — plus in-depth analysis, newsletters, premium events, and networking platform access.

Already have an account? Log in

Monthly

$39

Totals $468 per year

$39/month Get Started

Totals $468 per year

Starter

$30

for 3 months, then $39/month

$30 for 3 months Get Started

Then $39/month

Annual

$399

Save 15%

$399/year Get Started

Save 15%

11+ Users

Custom

Savings start at 25%!

Request A Quote Request A Quote

Savings start at 25%!

2-10 Users

$300

Annually per user

$300/year Get Started

$300 Annually per user

View All Plans

Get unlimited access to award-winning journalism and exclusive events.

Subscribe Log In

Previous article： Moonlake's readout produced a cash windfall. Risks remain
Next article： Readout Newsletter: The latest in Pfizer, Moderna, and Sanofi

WSS

Readout Newsletter: The latest in Pfizer, Moderna, and Sanofi

Despite FDA concern, risk that CAR

Listen: BridgeBio's big week & Lilly's Alzheimer's data

Despite FDA concern, risk that CAR

How to pay for weight loss drugs and save Medicare

Why the advice to take all your antibiotics may be wrong

entertainment

knowledge

This article is exclusive to STAT+ subscribers

Unlock this article — plus in-depth analysis, newsletters, premium events, and networking platform access.

Wikipedia

Jerome Adams on the need for new antivirals for Covid

With clinical trial data readouts, here's how to spot spin

As demand for Covid shots wanes, Moderna seeks its next success

A new deal aims to ramp up use of AI in rehab care decisions

Dobbs anniversary: the lost opportunity of abortion as health care

Why the advice to take all your antibiotics may be wrong

The cancer drug shortage isn’t new — and neither are the solutions

Prosecutors say FTX founder Sam Bankman

Apple is now the first public company to be valued at $3 trillion

Flagship Pioneering launches a new biotech in two countries

leisure time

ReNAgade cuts staff seven months after raising $300 million

Suspects arrested after 3 women attacked on Manhattan's West Side: Police

How to pay for weight loss drugs and save Medicare

How Brent Saunders' Allergan experiment failed

What to do when lifesaving products contribute to climate change

UnitedHealth has 90,000 doctors — 10% of all physicians in U.S.

focus

focus

leisure time

hotspot