Let’s Break It Down

In 2021, Ashleigh Todd had to have shoulder surgery.

She had health insurance. In fact, she paid more than $400 per month in premiums for the assurance that should she require healthcare, it’d be paid for. Well — after her $12,000 deductible was met, that is.

But even after she’d met the deductible, Ashleigh was responsible for a copay of 30%. Her total financial responsibility for the event was between $16,000 and $20,000.

“I’m still paying off that bill right now,” she said.

Just a few months ago, in February 2025, Ashleigh tore the biceps tendon in her other shoulder, requiring surgery to reattach it.

Thankfully, this time, she was part of CommunityCare.

Ashleigh, 41, is a CrossFit Level 2 Trainer at CrossFit Believe in Warrensburg, Missouri, and the owner of Well Fed Health. For her first three years as a full-time coach, she purchased her own private health insurance, shelling out big bucks every month in return for next-to-zero transparency.

“With traditional insurance, it just really seems like a free-for-all,” she said. “You can’t get any information about what you will be billed.”

So when she heard about CommunityCare — a community-powered alternative to health insurance that aligns with her values, costs far less, and provides financial clarity — she was all in. And after her February injury, she had the chance to experience CommunityCare in action firsthand.

Ashleigh checked into an orthopedic urgent care clinic on the Monday after her Friday incident, initiating the health event in CommunityCare’s virtual care platform. By that afternoon, she’d received a call from her Care Advocate, Lizzie, who worked with her to manage next steps — including gathering estimates and finding the right place for imaging and surgery within the three-week window necessitated by her injury.

By the time Ashleigh went under the knife, she’d already been reimbursed for most of the $7,000 cost of the operation. Her total financial responsibility? Just the $500 Member Commitment amount.

The experience was in stark contrast to the 2021 procedure that saddled her with nearly 20 grand in debt (after billing insurance to the tune of $90,000). And that’s just considering one health event. For an even wider vantage point, let’s do some math.

At $400 per month, Ashleigh paid $4,800 per year in premiums alone under her old health insurance plan (copays raise that number substantially). As part of CommunityCare, Ashleigh pays the monthly $55 advocacy fee plus the monthly crowdfunding amount, which is variable depending on need and capped at $140.

That means that even with Ashleigh’s $500 responsibility for her February health event and even if every month’s crowdfunding amount hits the max (an unlikely occurrence; for perspective, January’s amount was $85, February was $75, and March was $70) Ashleigh’s looking at a total spend of $2,840 for the year.

That’s nearly $2,000 less than what she paid toward health insurance premiums — not even including copays or deductibles.

“It kind of puts things into perspective,” she said, recalling the surprise bills she’d received for rehab after her 2021 injury.

With CommunityCare, “everything outlined in the manual is what happened for me,” Ashleigh said.

“I’ve been trying to tell all my coaching friends to sign up!”

Real healthcare stories that inspire! Meet Ashleigh, a CrossFit coach who discovered the game-changing difference between traditional insurance and CommunityCare.

In 2021, shoulder surgery left her with $20,000 in medical debt—despite paying $400 monthly in insurance premiums. Fast forward to 2025: another shoulder surgery, but this time with CommunityCare. The result? Just $500 out of pocket for a $7,000 procedure!

Total yearly savings with CommunityCare versus traditional insurance: nearly $2,000—and that's before copays and deductibles! CommunityCare caps at $195 monthly for membership and crowdfunding combined, and major health events require only a $500 member commitment.