One fifth of Americans have contributed to an online fundraiser for someone else’s health care costs – and strangers have been the beneficiaries of this charity at an above average rate. These quite shocking insights come from a survey carried out by the University of Chicago, shining some light on the high number of Americans struggling every day to pay their medical bills.
The most common people to contribute to were friends, with almost half of those who had donated to a medical fundraiser saying they were helping a friend out. Surprisingly, giving to strangers on the internet was the next most common way to donate for medical expenses at 35 percent.
Other popular beneficiaries were relatives, acquaintances and co-workers – so almost any type of person people interact with in their daily lives. The makers of the study said they were assuming these types of fundraisers will become even more popular in the face of rising premiums and out-of-pocket costs.
