I suppose this was prompted by my GoFundMe thread. It’s been moderately successful so far and I’m grateful for that.
My campaign page does mention ongoing and future costs and daily living expenses as well as past expenses.
But it’s a solution for a problem that would be better handled by some kind of single payer system.
Charity is wonderful but it’s arbitrary. Those who understand and have access to technology, and who have generous friends, have an undeserved advantage. I think this is the biggest reason I feel guilty about utilizing it.
If we’re going to have a system where we help each other out then we should formalize it as a system where everyone pays in according to ability and receives care according to need. Government is the obvious mechanism for doing this.
There are also situations where the medical bills are covered, or almost entirely so, but the fundraiser was done so the family wouldn’t have to worry about paying for things like babysitters, Ronald McDonald House fees, gasoline, lost income from a spouse or parent being unable to work, restaurant meals, etc. - things that aren’t covered on most insurance policies.