Frequently Asked Questions
How does it work?
Step 1: Contribute - Members make a low monthly contribution to be part of CrowdHealth.
Step 2: Go to the Doctor - You go to the doctor, ask for the cash price, and pay the bill.
**For emergency events, let us know before you pay your bill. We can facilitate negotiation on your behalf for emergency bills before you pay them.
Step 3: Submit Your Bills - Submitting bills is super simple. Just snap a photo, upload to the mobile app, and hit Submit!
Step 4: CrowdFund - CrowdHealth facilitates Member funding requests, so bills are crowdfunded smoothly and quickly.
How much is it?
All members pay $50/month subscription fee (this includes the toolkit as well as your Care Advocacy team to help navigate and facilitate your health events)
Crowdfunding is then charged separately per month (depending on the bills submitted from the Crowd)
Crowdfunding requested per month:
Ages 0-54: Up to $125 per member
Ages 55-64: Up to $250 per member
Families of 4+ members: Up to $375 per family
Can anyone join?
Almost! The Community is not currently open to tobacco users (defined as daily use for a period of 3 or more months, past or present) or those who weigh over 220/260 pounds (female/male). We want the CrowdHealth Community to be a place for anyone looking to improve their health and contribute through the Member Community, so we hope to add an option for people with more varied health histories soon.
How do you handle previously diagnosed or documented health conditions?
For previously diagnosed or documented health conditions, no costs associated with the condition(s) are eligible for crowdfunding in the first or second year. Starting in the third year of Membership, up to $25K to bills per year related to previously diagnosed or documented health condition(s) may be submitted for crowdfunding.
How do I pay for big healthcare events with CrowdHealth?
The CrowdHealth platform is designed to maximize the probability that all Members’ eligible bills can be funded each month. For big, planned bills (like expensive surgeries), we’ll negotiate the cost to a 30-60% discount before the procedure event happens. For big emergency bills, we'll work with our partners to negotiate them after the fact and can set them up to be paid over 12, 24, or 36 months if needed. So, a huge $500,000 bill after a cardiac arrest and hospital stay could come down to $240,000, divided by 24 months and 5000 Crowd Members, and amount to just $2 of crowdfunding per Member each month over a two-year payment period. There is no maximum amount of health care costs you can share with the Community.
What is not eligible for funding?
Examples of procedures and treatments that are not eligible for funding include (but are not limited to): cosmetic procedures, long-term prescriptions, and fertility/infertility treatments. Procedures and treatments tied to a pre-existing conditions are not eligible for funding in the first and second years of your Membership, and funding is limited in subsequent years.
How do I pay my doctor with CrowdHealth?
When you go to the doctor for a standard appointment, ask for the cash price and pay the bill. For health events greater than $500, you commit to funding the first $500 and can submit a funding request to CrowdHealth for anything over that amount.
For scheduled services, like labs, imaging, or surgeries, let us know ahead of time. We can contact your doctor and help negotiate pricing before you go.
For emergencies, let us know before you pay your bill. Our partners can help you negotiate your emergency bill before it's paid.
Why can’t you guarantee funding?
Check out why CrowdHealth isn't insurance here.
Can I see any doctor?
CrowdHealth does not limit your access to care through stifling doctor networks. As a Member, you can keep seeing your favorite doc, or talk to your Care Advocate if you need help finding a new high-quality provider.
Do you count as health insurance for states that have individual mandates?
No, your CrowdHealth Membership does not satisfy a federal or state individual Minimum Essential Coverage (MEC) mandate. If you live in a state (e.g. California, District of Columbia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont) with a state-level individual MEC mandate, you are responsible for securing that coverage independently from your CrowdHealth Membership.
Do you offer vision and dental?
One annual wellness event per Member per year, costing up to $300, is eligible for crowdfunding without the initial $500 Member Commitment. Eligible wellness events include:
- primary care wellness exam/physical, including naturopathy;
- pediatric well-child visits;
- direct primary care (DPC) membership fee;
- annual female gynecological exam and labs;
- dental exam, including cleaning and X-rays; or
- vision exam.
How is funding for pregnancies handled?
Member maternity care that is eligible for funding by the Crowd includes your whole pregnancy, through birth and beyond. The three phases of your pregnancy represent three separate health events, each with a $500 Member Commitment:
1) prenatal care,
2) labor and delivery, and
3) postpartum care.
You will pay the first $500 of each of these events ($1500 total), then CrowdHealth will facilitate crowdfunding for the rest.
Your child’s newborn care (first six months) is a separate health event from maternity and is included in the baby’s Membership when added as a new Member after birth.
Can I use an HSA with CrowdHealth?
Since CrowdHealth isn’t insurance, you cannot contribute to an HSA with our plan. This may be an option in the future, in the meantime, and you can still expect to save hundreds to thousands of dollars a year on your health costs. If you have existing money in an HSA account, you could use that to pay for your medical bills that fall within the $500 Member Commitment (each Member pays up to $500 per unique health event before expenses are submitted for Community funding). However, existing HSA dollars could not be used to pay your monthly subscriptions or contributions to CrowdHealth.
How do prescriptions work?
Prescriptions related to a specific health event that occurs while you are a Member are eligible for funding by the Community for 120 days after that event. For prescriptions lasting longer than 120 days, you are responsible, but regardless of the timeline, you have access to our pharmacy discount partner, which can reduce your prescription costs by 50-60%.