Patient Assistance Doesn’t Take a Summer Holiday

For most Americans, summertime means taking it easy. School is out and beach days and barbecues are in. But for the HealthWell Foundation and the patients who count on us, summer is no vacation. As the heat and humidity soar, so does the need for financial assistance to help patients pay for life-changing and lifesaving medical treatments. That is why HealthWell continues to work tirelessly through the dog days of summer and beyond to support those who need us.

We invite you to read on to learn what we’ve been up to recently.

HealthWell and Family Reach Join Forces to Expand Access to Oncology Clinical Trial Patients

As part of our ongoing commitment to The White House Cancer Moonshot, we were honored to recently announce our sponsorship of Family Reach’s Clinical Trials Access Fund, which provides financial support to qualified oncology patients enrolled in an oncology clinical trial in the United States. Together, we seek to improve equitable access to these innovative and potentially lifesaving treatments.

The fund will provide financial assistance for food, transportation, housing, and utilities. Removing these barriers to care improves the likelihood of ongoing compliance with clinical protocols and a patient’s chances of survival. Patients will have the opportunity to access Family Reach’s full suite of services designed to help them meet their basic needs over the long term, including navigation connecting them to local programs (food banks, housing assistance, utility payment relief programs, etc.) and tip sheets and guidebooks for saving money and talking about finances during treatment.

“Science has come so far, but it’s outpacing the patient experience,” said Carla Tardiff, Family Reach Chief Executive Officer. “Hundreds of thousands of patients can’t afford gas to get to their care center or stable housing. If a patient can’t meet these basic needs, cancer treatment is put on hold. With the launch of the Clinical Trials Access Fund powered by the HealthWell Foundation, we’re breaking down barriers to innovative care and helping more patients gain more moments and memories with loved ones.”

“Assisting the oncology community in accessing critical medical treatments has always been a priority for HealthWell,” added HealthWell’s Chief Development Officer, Alan Klein. “Last year, as part of our commitment to the Cancer Moonshot initiative, we pledged to begin providing financial assistance in 2024 to qualified clinical trial patients. We are thrilled to bring this commitment to fruition through our sponsorship of the Clinical Trials Access Fund initiated and managed by Family Reach. We look forward to working together to eliminate obstacles in accessing these trials so oncology patients can focus on compliance and not the financial challenges associated with cancer.”

More Fund News

We were excited to open several new funds during the second quarter of 2024, including funds for:

• • Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatohepatitis (MASH)
  • Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
  • General Travel assistance for transportation expenses related to the treatment or management of their disease or condition
  • Vitamins and Supplements for inborn metabolic or genetic bile acid deficiency

To learn more about HealthWell’s disease funds, visit our Disease Funds page.

Spring Conferences: Connecting with Providers, Pharmacies and Patient Advocates

The HealthWell team had a busy spring, traveling from coast to coast to deliver our message of help, healing and hope to our patient community.

One of the highlights of our spring conference schedule was the Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit held in late April. There, our Chief Development Officer, Alan Klein, and our Chief Operations Officer, Fred Larbi, moderated a panel discussion titled A Catastrophic Phaseout Makes Way for a Smoother Option. Implementing & Managing the Upside Patient Financial Impact of the IRA. Alan and Fred were joined by Charles E. Collins Jr., President, Healthcare Stakeholder Solutions; Melissa Paige, President, National Association of Medication Access & Patient Advocacy; and Eyad Farah, Chief Operating Officer, Orsini Specialty Pharmacy.

We also attended the:

• 16^th Annual Cystic Fibrosis Nutrition & Social Work Consortium
• 49^th Annual Oncology Nursing Society Conference
• Digestive Disease Week Conference
• American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting
• National Infusion Center Association Conference
• Advanced Therapeutics in Movement Related Disorders Conference

To learn where we’ll be next, visit our Conference Schedule online.

Shining a Spotlight on Our Alliance Partners

It always feels good to have friends in your corner, a team to count on, and support wherever you turn. HealthWell is honored to provide support to the patients we serve. We’re grateful that we have a network of alliance partners – leading patient advocacy groups and national health care organizations – that help patients whose needs go beyond financial assistance. We work closely with our alliance partners to reach the patients who need us most and share information, resources, and referrals with one another.

To learn more about our ever-growing list of alliance partners, visit our Alliance Partners page.

How to Cope with the Financial Toll of Cancer: TIME Speaks with HealthWell’s Alan Klein

TIME Magazine recently published an article on cancer’s steep financial toll on patients, caregivers, and families. Among those interviewed and quoted in the article was HealthWell’s Chief Development Officer, Alan Klein, who noted: “We routinely hear that patients who cannot pay for their medication regimen as prescribed only fill their prescriptions or receive their medication treatment in intervals they can afford, which is often suboptimal, especially in oncology. Affording their cancer medications should be the last thing those patients should be worried about.”

You can read the full TIME Magazine article here.

Alan was also interviewed by News12 Long Island about how charitable patient assistance foundations (CPAPs) like the HealthWell Foundation can help people avoid medical debt when they’re sick. View the news segment here.

Our New “Look” – Visit Us Online

If you’ve visited us recently at www.HealthWellFoundation.org you may have noticed something different. We’ve redesigned our home page to streamline the user experience. The new design makes it easier to quickly determine grant eligibility and access grant application forms and pharmacy card information. In addition, the new design provides quick and easy access to timely news and information about HealthWell, including educational videos, alerts, and our social media feeds.

We’ve also redesigned our donation page. Our donation page redesign is a direct result of the invaluable feedback we’ve received from our dedicated individual donors. Our new donation form provides enhanced security features to ensure the safety of donor information and features upgrades tailored to enhance the user experience. In addition, donors can customize their experience by creating an account to manage recurring donations, making donations to HealthWell easier than ever.

Also new on our website is our new patient brochure. It’s chock full of useful information about HealthWell grants, including details on eligibility, enrollment, reimbursement, and more. Click the image above to download a PDF or email us at Support@HealthWellFoundation.org to request printed copies.

 

Did You Know That August is National Make a Will Month?

Why create a bequest?

A bequest in your estate plan (also known as a planned gift) costs nothing today but provides sustained support to the HealthWell Foundation for years to come. It is one of the most meaningful gifts you can offer to those who struggle with chronic illness and need financial support for their lifesaving medications when their insurance is not enough.

Get started today:

1. Visit FreeWill.com/HealthWell to create a free will or revocable living trust.
2. At the “Residuary” step, select our organization and designate a specific fund or initiative you want your legacy to support. Your gift can be a percentage of your residuary estate or a fixed amount.
3. Finalize your plans by printing and signing your document in front of witnesses.

Questions? Contact Abby Pevey at abby.pevey@healthwellfoundation.org

Help Us Earn Our Badge

Have you or a loved one been touched by a grant from HealthWell? If so, we would be honored if you would take a moment to leave us a review on GreatNonprofits.org. Every 5-star review counts toward a Top-Rated badge with GreatNonprofits, which helps us spread the word about our life-changing work to assist patients in need.

Visit www.greatnonprofits.org/org/healthwell-foundation to leave your review today!

Support HealthWell by Becoming a Monthly Donor

Our monthly donors provide HealthWell with sustainable funding all year round, which helps us focus on what matters most: providing support to individuals facing financial hardship in accessing critical medical treatments.

A gift as small as $25 per month can help change the life of someone in need. To make a one-time or recurring donation, please visit https://secure.healthwellfoundation.org/forms/donate.

Your Support Changes Lives

Did you know that 100 percent of your tax-deductible donation is put to work immediately to assist patients who might otherwise forgo critical, potentially lifesaving, medical treatments simply because they can’t afford them? Because of your generosity, since awarding our first grant in 2004, we have been able to assist more than 930,000 patients with chronic or life-altering diseases. Thank you for helping us help so many in need.

Here are a few ways you can support our mission:

1. Make a tax-deductible contribution.
2. Donate in the name of a friend or loved one.
3. Include the HealthWell Foundation in your estate plans.

Help Us Help Those Who Have Nowhere Else to Turn

Helping us spread the word is also a critical, and highly valued, contribution to the HealthWell Foundation. You can help by sharing the life-changing work we do. Connect with us through our social communities! Here’s how you can help us make a difference in the life of a patient in need today!

1. Create a Facebook fundraiser to commemorate a birthday, anniversary or other special occasion.

2. Spread the word about the important work we do by sharing your HealthWell story.

Thank you for helping us help others in any way you can.