HealthWell Foundation Opens Fund to Assist Medicare Patients Living with COPD
Fund Offers Copayment and Premium Assistance to Eligible Patients
GERMANTOWN, Md. — May 23, 2024 — The HealthWell Foundation®, an independent non-profit charitable organization that provides financial assistance for underinsured Americans, announced today it has opened a new fund to provide financial assistance to individuals living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Through the fund, HealthWell will provide up to $3,250 in medication copayment or insurance premium assistance to eligible Medicare patients with annual household incomes up to 500 percent of the federal poverty level for the management of their disease.
COPD describes chronic lung diseases including emphysema (damage to the air sacs) and chronic bronchitis (damage to the bronchial tubes), which are characterized by breathlessness. COPD can progress for years without noticeable shortness of breath. Symptoms of COPD include increased shortness of breath, frequent coughing, wheezing, tightness in the chest, and unusual tiredness. Currently, COPD is an incurable disease, but treatments are available to help patients breathe better and improve their quality of life. COPD affects an estimated 30 million Americans, many of whom are undiagnosed.
“Individuals with COPD often need multiple medications and treatments that can create financial challenges,” said Jean Wright, M.D., MBA, CEO of the COPD Foundation. “We commend the HealthWell Foundation for addressing this issue and enabling people to afford proper treatment plans. Our partnership aims to make medications more accessible and supports the COPD Foundation’s mission to help millions of people live longer and healthier lives.”
“We are honored to expand our services to the COPD community and to provide access to life-changing medications patients might otherwise forgo due to cost,” said Alan Klein, HealthWell Foundation Chief Development Officer. “Being diagnosed with a chronic disease is difficult enough. For many Medicare patients, they have the added stress of not being able to access or afford life-changing medications to treat their disease. We are thankful to our dedicated donors who realize the undue hardship these patients face and for providing the financial resources necessary to ensure they can receive the care they need without worrying how they will pay for it.”
To determine eligibility and apply for assistance, visit HealthWell’s Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease – Medicare Access Fund page. Note that all new fund openings and fund re-openings occur at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (8:00 a.m. Pacific) Monday through Friday. To learn more about HealthWell programs and our robust portfolio of disease funds, visit HealthWellFoundation.org.
About the COPD Foundation
The COPD Foundation is a non-profit organization whose mission is to help millions of people live longer and healthier lives by advancing research, advocacy, and awareness to stop COPD, bronchiectasis, and NTM lung disease. The Foundation does this through scientific research, education, advocacy, and awareness to prevent disease, slow progression, and find a cure. For more information, visit copdfoundation.org, or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
About the HealthWell Foundation
A nationally recognized, independent non-profit organization founded in 2003 and a resource to the White House Cancer Moonshot Initiative, the HealthWell Foundation has served as a safety net across over 90 disease areas for more than 930,000 underinsured patients. Since its inception, HealthWell has provided over $4 billion in financial support through more than 1.5 million grants to access life-changing medical treatments patients otherwise would not be able to afford. HealthWell provides financial assistance to adults and children facing medical hardship resulting from gaps in their insurance that cause out-of-pocket medical expenses to escalate rapidly; HealthWell assists with the treatment-related cost-sharing obligations of these patients. HealthWell ranked 23rd on the 2023 Forbes list of America’s Top 100 Charities and was recognized for its 100 percent fundraising efficiency. For more information, visit HealthWellFoundation.org.
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