Unique Partnership Expands Access to Oncology Clinical Trial Patients
As part of their ongoing commitment to The White House Cancer Moonshot, two non-profit organizations have joined forces to improve equitable access to innovative and potentially lifesaving treatments available through oncology clinical trials in the United States.
The HealthWell Foundation announced its sponsorship of Family Reach’s Clinical Trial Access Fund last month. The fund provides financial assistance for food, transportation, housing, and utilities to qualified oncology patients. Removing these barriers to care improves the likelihood of ongoing compliance with clinical protocols and a patient’s chance of survival.
Meeting Long-Term Patient Needs
Patients enrolled in the program 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 Tardif, 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 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.”
Eucharia Borden
According to Eucharia Borden, MSW, LCSW, Family Reach Vice President of Programs and Health Equity, 72 percent of the clinical trial patients served by Family Reach do not have a reliable way to get to treatments, making lack of transportation the biggest unmet need facing clinical trial participants. Just over sixty percent of the clinical trial patients they serve face food insecurity.
“The Clinical Trials Access Fund powered by the HealthWell Foundation will allow us to increase the number of patients we serve,” she said.
“Assisting the oncology community in accessing critical medical treatments has always been a priority for HealthWell,” added Alan Klein, HealthWell Foundation’s Chief Development Officer. “We are thrilled to bring our commitment to clinical trial patients 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.”
Klein, who devotes a great deal of time to determining where there are gaps in health care, said he would like to see clinical trial sponsors incentivized for exceeding the minimum 12% data threshold for minority population participation in clinical trials. He offered that these incentives could be similar to those encouraging research and development of treatments for rare and infectious diseases. Klein was invited to share his recommendations at the recent White House Minority Health Forum, where he participated in the breakout session: Making Innovation & Research Work for Everyone.
“Increasing minority population participation in clinical trials to make those trials more representative of the general population is in the best interests of the country,” he said. “If the available patient pool is larger, it will be easier to identify and recruit patients. This, in turn, will speed the entire process of treatment discovery and approval.”
Commitments to the Cancer Moonshot
Last September, HealthWell announced its participation in efforts to advance the goals of The White House Cancer Moonshot. At that time, HealthWell committed to:
- Provide more than $300 million in 2024 to underinsured oncology patients to offset out-of-pocket medication costs, helping them adhere to prescribed treatment regimens and improve their survival. HealthWell is poised to meet this goal through its multiple funds in oncology, including a Cancer-Related Behavioral Health Fund to assist oncology patients seeking behavioral health services.
- Provide financial assistance to qualified clinical trial patients to address disparities in participation in oncology trials. The partnership with Family Reach’s Clinical Trial Access Fund accomplishes this goal.
- Support oncology caregivers through a new fund to help individuals with certain out-of-pocket financial needs, seeding $500,000 for the program. HealthWell plans to launch this new fund later this year.
Family Reach has committed to activities and programs that align with the goals of the Cancer Moonshot as well. Its Community Partnerships program has been recognized by the Cancer Moonshot for its work with regional Black and/or Hispanic/Latino-led non-profits to deliver financial support to patients in their communities. Partnership locations are chosen using state-level data from the CDC and US Census Bureau to identify locations with the highest rates of both cancer mortality and poverty among Black and Hispanic/Latino communities.
“The financial strain of a cancer diagnosis is felt acutely by Black and Hispanic/Latino patients, who experience long-standing racial wealth disparities,” Borden said. “We are working closely with trusted community groups to remove those burdens and create more equitable health care experiences for patients who need them the most.”