Great Humanity Healthcare Fund

The Great Humanity Healthcare Foundation (GHHF) will be a 501(c)(3) charity for individuals and families who have health insurance but cannot afford to pay the direct costs of the healthcare that they require. The funds from this campaign will go directly to establishing the GHHF and any remainder funds will begin the Fund itself.

Why Start The GHHF? As a Certified Financial Planner (CFP), I have seen first hand the effect that healthcare costs have on individuals, families, employees, employers, and healthcare providers. Both professionally and personally, I've witnessed the financial distress that even insured, knowledgeable individuals and families face when they require healthcare. It's devastating that 60% of household bankruptcies are not due to credit card or mortgage-related debt; they are due to healthcare costs.

Because of their financial distress, people avoid getting medical attention they require and end up making their health situation worse. Often times, these individuals don't have the flexibility to spend on goods and services because they are afraid of how to pay for their medical bills. Then there are healthcare providers sitting with losses and being forced to deploy collection agencies to collect overdue bills, which can make future borrowing impossible by the patient.

Individuals, businesses, healthcare providers; everyone is hurting.  I want to change that.

This year I want to create the Great Humanity Healthcare Fund to support insured individuals and families who are met with needing healthcare but are unable to pay the direct costs and, as a result, support businesses an healthcare providers too.



Who Will Benefit From The GHHF? The funds will be distributed to people who apply for assistance, who have health insurance, and who cannot afford to pay their deductibles and copays.

Businesses will also benefit from the GHHF. People worried about paying for healthcare reduce their spending on everything else. That means food, entertainment, travel, school supplies... everything. When a person or family receives assistance from the GHHF, it will allow them to purchase other items that they need.

How Will Recipients Be Chosen? Most importantly, the GHHF requires recipients to have health insurance. This is the line in the sand that has been chosen because there will need to be evidence that applicants have done everything in their power to stay on top of healthcare costs. The only way to concretely prove this is through verification that the person or family has health insurance. This means that Medicaid beneficiaries will be ineligible because they are receiving all of their healthcare benefits at zero financial cost.

The requirement for recipients to have health insurance, either privately purchased or through an employer, will allow the GHHF to also have evidence of the amount of financial distress being experienced by the applicants and recipients of assistance.
 
How Will I Use The Funds From This Campaign? The demand for financial assistance will be overwhelming because there are people who face this financial pressure in nearly every community, every day. However, the charity itself must be built soundly, which will take into account the inevitable demand. In order to be created, proper IRS documentation must qualify the GHHF as a tax-exempt organization. There must also be documentation regarding the approval of applicants. Personnel to be captains of activities like fundraising, proposal writing, accounting, applicant approval, advertising, and social media are all necessary for starting and keeping a charity running. The Gist: GHHF, like other charities, requires a team of people and a hefty amount of legal documentation in order to be created.

Once the GHHF is formally established, any remainder funds from this campaign will be transferred to the GHHF itself.


What If I Don't Make Enough Funds? If I do not reach the campaign goal listed, I will be unable to launch the GHHF due to the funds required for startup. In the chance that this occurs, the funds are insufficient to launch the GHHF, the money raised in this campaign will be given to the national chapter of the Red Cross.

However I Think Together We Will Raise The Funds. Why? I have backing from a long list of businesses and investors. But, more importantly, there is a need for something like the GHHF.

Who Am I? I'm an everyday Certified Financial Planner (CFP) with a not-so-everyday knowledge on health insurance. You can find my comments (and strong Midwestern accent) on the financial impact of health insurance at:
USA Today
Dow Jones Newswire
cnbc.com
nasdaq.com
NPR affiliates, local/national talk radio
Financial advisor trade publications
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