574-P: GoFundMe Isn’t a Medical Plan

Abstract

The rising cost of insulin, costly insurance premiums and the popularity of high deductible insurance plans have resulted in decreased access to insulin. People with diabetes who need financial support for insulin turn to crowdfunding websites, such as GoFundMe, to raise funds. It is unknown if crowdfunding is successful in funding insulin campaigns. This study aims to explore the success and contributing factors for crowdfunding insulin requests in the United States (US). In this retrospective, descriptive study, data were extracted from GoFundMe insulin campaigns for human use in the US from February to April 2019. Data were coded for the following characteristics: campaign requestor, the reason for the request, facial recognition age, gender and race, education level of the post (Flesch-Kincaid), diabetes type, insurance status, disability status, and previous request for pharma support. Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were utilized to describe and analyze the campaign requestor, purpose and success rate, and contributing factors to campaign success. Of 205 GoFundMe campaigns, 114 (55.0%) were started by the person with diabetes (as opposed to family/friends). Campaigns were created due to insurance issues (i.e., loss of insurance, inadequate insurance coverage; N=125, 61.0%) and requested a median of $1,100 ($50-$200,000), and raised a median of $65 ($0-$6,920). A mean of 29.5% (± 0.6%) of the requested campaign amounts were met. There were no differences in funded status by the characteristics tested. Those who requested lower amounts of money <$500 were more likely to achieve funding X2(1, N=205) = 9.6, p<.01. Despite crowdfunding websites being used to augment insulin purchases, campaigns raise only a fraction of the money requested. Generally, crowdsourcing for insulin is not successful. Diabetes providers should routinely assess their patients’ ability to access insulin and provide resources as needed. People with diabetes must understand the limited success of crowdfunding insulin online. Disclosure J. E. Blanchette: Board Member; Self; JDRF, Consultant; Self; Insulet Corporation, Other Relationship; Self; Insulet Corporation, Tandem Diabetes Care, Research Support; Self; Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists. M. Tran: None. E. Iacob: None. T. Oser: Advisory Panel; Self; Cecelia Health, Dexcom, Inc., Advisory Panel; Spouse/Partner; Cecelia Health, Dexcom, Inc. E. Grigorian: None. L. S. Edelman: None. M. L. Litchman: Research Support; Self; Abbott Diabetes.