Nora Kenworthy, author and professor, discusses the drawbacks of healthcare crowdfunding, including inequality and lack of success. They explore the evolution of crowdfunding post-financial crisis and its impact on healthcare. The podcast delves into the complexities of GoFundMe campaigns, including inequalities and technological influences, highlighting the ethical dilemmas and unintended consequences faced by campaigners.
Crowdfunding for healthcare can create financial challenges despite its popularity.
Selective deservingness and implicit biases influence crowdfunding campaign success.
Deep dives
Challenges of Crowdfunding for Healthcare
Crowdfunding for healthcare, while popular and potentially helpful, can present significant challenges and limitations. Emily's case exemplifies the financial struggles faced despite a successful crowdfunding campaign. The harsh reality is that crowdfunding often falls short in covering extensive medical bills, leaving individuals like Emily in a precarious financial situation.
Selective Deservingness and Social Pressures
Nora highlights the notion of selective deservingness in crowdfunding, where platforms and donors subconsciously favor certain campaigns over others based on implicit biases. The pressure to portray oneself as uniquely deserving of assistance can lead to uncomfortable experiences for fundraisers, such as Hannah's efforts to conceal sensitive information to maintain a favorable campaign image.
Impact and Ethical Dilemmas of Crowdfunding
As crowdfunding proliferates, it raises ethical concerns and mirrors societal inequalities. The platform's reliance on individual appeals perpetuates a fragmented healthcare support system and detracts from the push for universal healthcare. Despite the genuine care and connection it evokes, crowdfunding's effectiveness in addressing systemic issues remains limited, prompting a critical examination of its role in shaping healthcare access and social support.
In theory, crowdfunding sites offer an opportunity for anyone to give to any cause, including, say, strangers facing huge medical bills. In practice, crowdfunding suffers from many of the same inequities that led to someone needing to crowdfund to begin with.
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