Thank You for Your Support in 2024 

When I joined the HealthWell Foundation late last year as the new President and CEO, I was immediately humbled by every single team member’s commitment to helping people during their most financially and emotionally challenging times. The dedication of our close-knit group is just one of the reasons HealthWell has been so successful for more than 20 years. 

Our individual and corporate donors are another big reason for our enduring success. In 2024, your spirit of giving allowed us to assist over 291,000* patients through more than $1.23* billion in grants. Your selfless support of our mission has allowed us to reach the tremendous milestone of assisting more than 1 million patients since awarding our first grant in 2004. On behalf of our dedicated corporate and contact center teams, and the over 1 million patients we have assisted, thank you for continuing to place your trust in HealthWell to provide life-changing financial assistance to underinsured Americans who had nowhere else to turn.  (*Unaudited.)

We’ll be sharing details about our 2024 achievements soon in our annual Year in Review, so please stay tuned. In the meantime, I’d like to acknowledge at least a few highlights here, including:

• Our #24 ranking on the 2024 Forbes list of America’s Top 100 Charities, where we received a 100 percent fundraising efficiency rating. 

• New funds we launched for Cancer Home Care Services, Schizophrenia, Oncology Caregiver Behavioral Health and MASH, among others. 

• New tools to make the HealthWell experience even easier, including our mobile app (for iOS and Android) and new online chatbot at HealthWellFoundation.org.  

• Our membership in the National Health Council, a national non-profit organization dedicated to promoting affordable, high-value, sustainable, equitable health care. 

While everyone at HealthWell is understandably proud of our achievements, we know that we still have much work to do in our role as a lifeline for those coping with the financial toxicity of a chronic and serious illness. I am excited to lead HealthWell in our very important mission of reducing financial barriers to care and look forward to an even more successful 2025.  

Thanks to everyone reading this letter for your continued support of HealthWell. 

GivingTuesday: Thanks a Million for Your Generosity! 

Each year, GivingTuesday inspires millions around the world to unleash the power of their generosity to help others.  

This past GivingTuesday, HealthWell celebrated its 2024 milestone of providing financial assistance to 1 million patients with a campaign to raise funds to help us assist another million patients in need.  

You delivered! Thanks to your generosity, our GivingTuesday campaign resulted in a record $99,000 in donations – a 350% increase over our 2023 GivingTuesday campaign. Your donations will help HealthWell continue to be a financial lifeline for patients who can’t afford critical, often lifesaving, medications. We are truly grateful for your support. 

HealthWell Ranks #24 on Forbes’ 2024 List of America’s Top 100 Charities

In December, HealthWell was honored to be ranked #24 on the 2024 Forbes list of America’s Top 100 Charities and to be recognized as one of only seven charities nationwide to achieve a 100 percent fundraising efficiency rating. 

We are honored to receive this prestigious ranking from this esteemed publication among so many other worthy charities. While we are humbled by this recognition, this would not be possible without the continued trust and generosity of our dedicated individual and corporate donors. Thank you for recognizing our commitment to assisting patients compassionately, efficiently, and compliantly.

New Oncology Fund Launched: Cancer Home Care Services Fund 

Late last year, HealthWell opened a new fund to assist with out-of-pocket costs for cancer home care services and durable medical equipment (DME). Through the fund, HealthWell will provide a one-time, 12-month grant of up to $2,000 to help cover the costs for home health services or DME provided by a Medicare-certified provider.

“Cancer can cause families to struggle with much more than hospital and outpatient care,” commented Don Liss, MD, HealthWell Foundation Board Member. “Providing grant funding for care in the home removes a barrier and allows families to keep their loved one safe and comfortable. Caregivers of people with cancer often bear the financial burden of purchasing equipment or paying for in-home services. These expenses can be overwhelming and another source of stress and anxiety. Through the fund, HealthWell will help ease this burden so families can focus on caring for their loved one.”

For more information and to determine eligibility for assistance, visit HealthWell’s Cancer Home Care Services Fund page.

Impact of the Inflation Reduction Act on Patient Assistance Programs 

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 contained several provisions to lower out-of-pocket drug costs for people with Medicare. Understanding that policy changes like the IRA can be complicated for everyone, HealthWell sought to bring a bit of clarity to patients, providers, and other key stakeholders. Throughout 2024, we:

• Published a series of IRA articles on our Real World Health Care blog.
• Launched a social media campaign on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram to help patients understand how the IRA will affect their grant.
• Participated in IRA panel discussions at the 2024 Healthcare Advocate Summit and the Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit (AXS24). We will return to the stage at AXS25 to deliver a follow up presentation in the spring.
• Added links to Medicare and IRA-related information sources on our Resources page.

HealthWell continues to make ourselves available to patients with questions about their Medicare drug plan options. We’re just an email away at [email protected].

Making Connections 

HealthWell finished 2024 with a busy schedule of health care conferences – 10 in the final quarter of the year. We attend conferences to spread the word about HealthWell’s services to patient advocacy and support organizations, health care providers, and pharmacies. Conferences also bolster our fundraising/development efforts and help us create targeted programs to meet patients’ needs. 

Two highlights of our end-of-year conference participation included The Liver Meeting and the American College of Gastroenterology, where we introduced HealthWell to new prescribing physicians and pharmacies. 

We are off to a busy start of conference activities in 2025 and look forward to making new connections with key stakeholders throughout the year. To see where we’ll be next, visit our Conferences Schedule. If you’re attending any of these events, we invite you to stop by and see us! 

Know Us Before You Need Us – Spread the Word 

Receiving a diagnosis of a chronic or life-altering illness can be devastating. Compounding that news with the cost of critical, potentially lifesaving, medications and treatments, can be overwhelming and another source of stress and anxiety. At HealthWell, we want to ease the financial burden for underinsured patients so they can focus on their treatments, not how to pay for them.  

Helping us spread the word is an important, and highly valued, contribution to the HealthWell Foundation. When you share the news about HealthWell, you’re providing hope to patients who otherwise may forgo necessary medical treatments simply because they can’t afford them. Please help us spread the word about our program so millions more underinsured Americans will know us before they need us. Connecting with us through our social communities is a great way to increase awareness of our lifesaving work. 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. 

Help Us Help Those Who Have Nowhere Else to Turn  

HealthWell thanks all our individual and corporate donors for their generosity last year. Your continued support allowed us to assist more than 291,000* underinsured patients, helping them to access critical, potentially lifesaving medications. (*Unaudited.)

Every year, the need for our services continues to grow. While we are honored to have assisted so many patients in need, there are tens of thousands of patients who will forgo taking their medications, or sacrifice paying for daily necessities like food and utilities, simply because their health insurance is not enough.

In 2025, we want to help even more patients in need. Your donation of any amount will allow us to say “Yes, we can help you,” to thousands of patients who reach out to us for assistance. Please consider changing the life of a patient in need today through your tax-deductible donation to the HealthWell Foundation. Your gift will help us ensure that no patient goes without critical medical treatments simply because they can’t afford them.

Consider Supporting HealthWell by Becoming a Monthly Donor! 

Our monthly donors provide the HealthWell Foundation 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 $10 per month can help change the life of someone in need!   

To set up your monthly donation, please visit Donation Form (healthwellfoundation.org) and select “Donate Monthly” on the form under the Amount section.  

Thank you for your generosity!   

 

Thank you for continued support of our life-changing work and for helping us help others in any way you can.