Six years into running his business, self-employed marketing consultant Brooks Lockett faced a hurdle that small business owners, freelancers, and contract workers know all too well: the daunting mess of health insurance. “As a self-employed individual, the high premiums and inadequate coverage of traditional insurance felt like a burden,” he says. “I was paying $450 a month to get questionable service and surprise bills in the mail. The system seemed tailored for large corporations with the capacity to negotiate better rates, leaving freelancers and self-employed people like me at a disadvantage.”
Enter CrowdHealth, a platform and community that empowers people with a crowdfunding tool and a wealth of resources to efficiently manage their health care costs.
Signing up for CrowdHealth wasn't an instant choice for Lockett, who was hesitant to let go of his insurance completely. So he decided to use them side by side. “I signed up for CrowdHealth while keeping my old insurance. I was paying for both, testing CrowdHealth out to see if it could work better.”
The real test came when Lockett had to get a knee aspiration. He chose to use CrowdHealth instead of his traditional insurance, and saw that it's entirely possible to not rely on insurance and use CrowdHealth to navigate being a cash-pay patient.
Though initially quoted over $800, Lockett ended up paying just a bit over $300 out-of-pocket thanks to a self-pay discount. "Doctors gave me fair prices without the red tape,” he says. “It was a pleasant surprise. Being cash-pay, doctors treated me differently in a good way. It felt like it brought back their humanity.”
Anyone can join CrowdHealth. A $50 monthly subscription fee provides access to a suite of healthcare tools and help from representatives called Personal Care Advocates who guide members through healthcare decisions and negotiate bills on their behalf, and help to locate affordable specialists.
When a member needs help funding healthcare expenses from injury, illness, pregnancy, or other health events, that’s when the CrowdHealth community comes together.
Every month, members assist other members with their health care expenses through the Crowdhealth platform. If a member’s health event fits the platform guidelines, it will be shared and reimbursed by other members. The platform handles transfers from member accounts directly to the member who requires assistance. Monthly contribution limits are set based on age or family size, with contributions capped at $405 a month for families of four or more, while cost share for individuals under 55 is capped at $135 per month.
Crowdhealth has over 6,000 members. As membership grows, so does the ability to demonstrate the power of peer-to-peer, community-driven health support. Members pay as little as a few dollars to contribute to another member’s health events, while working to build an alternative to the financially burdensome and bureaucratic health insurance industry.
“Every entrepreneur should have an equal shot at accessing quality healthcare without burning a hole in their pocket,” says Lockett. “CrowdHealth is more than a service; it’s a movement towards reshaping healthcare to favor the individual, not the bureaucracy.”