CrowdHealth

CrowdHealth, Inc. operates a membership-based healthcare crowdfunding platform positioned as an alternative to traditional health insurance. Members join as self-pay patients, pay smaller medical expenses themselves, and submit larger eligible bills through a mobile app for funding by the wider member base, referred to as "the Crowd." Each member pays a $60 monthly advocacy fee for access to services including bill negotiation, a personal Care Advocate, provider search, prescription discounts, annual wellness benefits, maternity support, and virtual care available through the app. Separately, members are asked each month to contribute toward another member's bills, capped at a stated monthly maximum that varies by membership type, age and family size.

Two membership tiers are offered. The fuller-service tier carries a $500 member commitment per health event ($3,000 for an eligible pregnancy) and monthly crowdfunding asks of up to $140 (ages 0–54), $280 (ages 55–64) or $420 (family of four or more). A lower-cost tier aimed at major medical events only carries a $15,000 per-event commitment, excludes pregnancies, and caps monthly asks at $25, $50 or $75 for the same categories. Contributions are routed directly into a crowdfunding bank account opened for the receiving member rather than into a pooled fund; CrowdHealth describes itself as a financial technology company, not a bank, with banking services provided by Regent Bank, Member FDIC.

Eligibility is restricted: the Crowd is not open to tobacco users (defined as daily use for a year or more at any point) or to people above stated weight thresholds (220 lbs female / 260 lbs male, with exemptions available in California and New York), and membership spans ages from infancy through 64. Costs tied to previously diagnosed or documented conditions are not eligible for crowdfunding in the first two membership years, with up to $25,000 per year eligible from the third year onward. Cosmetic procedures, long-term prescriptions (beyond 12 consecutive months) and fertility treatments are excluded. The company states explicitly that membership is not insurance, does not guarantee funding, does not satisfy federal or state minimum essential coverage mandates, and cannot be funded with new HSA contributions.

Founding story

Founder and CEO Andy Schoonover recounts that his daughter had recurring ear infections and a ruptured eardrum, and that after a short procedure he received an $8,000 bill that his insurer declined to pay on the grounds that the care was "medically unnecessary." He describes that experience, together with the observation that 250,000 insured people declare bankruptcy each year over medical bills, as the impetus for building CrowdHealth as an alternative way to pay for healthcare.

Business model

Members pay a fixed $60 monthly advocacy fee per member for tools and support services, plus separate monthly crowdfunding contributions that are billed based on the bills submitted by other members and capped at published maximums. A 1%–3% credit card/ACH processing fee applies on top. Members retain ultimate responsibility for their own medical bills and pay a per-event member commitment ($500, $3,000 for maternity, or $15,000 depending on tier) before eligible remaining expenses can be submitted for crowdfunding. Custom pricing is offered for memberships of nine or more people, and a 10–20% discount is referenced on one tier.

Recurring subscription revenue from the $60 per-member monthly advocacy fee; crowdfunding contributions are described as passing directly to the receiving member rather than being pooled by the company.

Traction

The company website publishes a list of individually funded member bills, the largest cited at $643,242.32 for a firearm injury event in California, followed by $437,729.31 (NICU/hydronephrosis, North Dakota) and $333,943.56 (appendicitis, Georgia), with 25 examples above $100,000 spanning at least 14 states. A published case study describes a Dallas, Texas member whose $48,000 hysterectomy quote was negotiated to $9,190 and funded by 142 members at an average of $64.71 each. A third-party profile lists 30 employees.

Latest developments

The member guide was last updated 1 January 2026, and the site markets 2026 changes in healthcare alongside a two-tier membership structure and a webinar funnel. A third-party funding-news write-up dated March 2026 reports a $6.0 million round for the company.