Giving Thanks for Your Trust and Support

A Message from HealthWell Foundation President, Krista Zodet

It’s unbelievable that we are at the end of 2021 and nearly two years into the public health crisis. Wow! What an interesting and challenging year it’s been for all of us. With the COVID-19 pandemic waxing and waning, we continue to be unsure of what tomorrow will bring. As we strive to muddle through the day-to-day challenges COVID-19 continues to bestow on us, many people still feel uneasy and apprehensive about resuming many aspects of “normal” life. This time of year, we look forward to spending time with family and friends and to celebrating the coming of a new year. It is our hope that everyone will remain vigilant in exercising safety protocols, getting vaccines and boosters, and continuing to protect themselves and those around them. Remember, we are in this together – please stay vigilant so we can all have a brighter 2022!!

Again, we want to send a special thank you to our dedicated frontline health care workers for their compassion and commitment to keeping us safe and healthy and for all they do! We are grateful for your unwavering commitment to assisting those in need. THANK YOU!!

The corporate and contact center teams have been busy since my last letter! We opened a new fund; launched our new online Spanish application; welcomed a new board member; published our 2020 annual report; engaged with new alliance partners to help us spread the word about our programs; and participated in multiple conferences. We were also excited to have received top rankings from charity watchdog groups and publications, where we were recognized for our commitment, efficiency and transparency. I’ll be sharing details about all of our activities in this edition, so I hope you’ll continue to read.

Foundation Update

Thank you to our individual and corporate donors who continue to place their trust in us to ensure that no one goes without critical medical treatments simply because they cannot afford them. Their support is a testimony to the importance of our work and their faith in our ability to execute effectively and efficiently on our mission. We believe their trust is a direct result of the integrity and high standards with which we operate. The team and I were touched by the incredible support we received from our individual and corporate donors in 2020. We do not take this good fortune lightly. The support we receive from our dedicated donors allows us to assist tens of thousands of underinsured Americans every year – one of our greatest and most humbling achievements! In fact, their generosity allowed us to assist close to 170,000 underinsured Americans who reached out to us for assistance in 2020. I’m excited to share details of last year’s achievements in our 2020 Annual Report and hope you will take a few moments to review.

While 2020 certainly had its challenges, it also helped us realize just how much of a difference we can make in the lives of those so negatively impacted by a public health crisis. Words cannot express our gratitude for the selfless generosity and continued support from our individual and corporate donors that allows us to assist underinsured Americans who have nowhere else to turn.

We were also proud to be recognized for our commitment, efficiency and transparency by leading charity watchdog groups, publications, and other organizations such as the Chronicle of Philanthropy, GreatNonprofits, and NonProfit Times. Thank you to all who shared reviews to allow us to be recognized.

Meet the Team

We were honored to recently welcome David F. Ertel to our Board of Directors. Mr. Ertel brings over 30 years’ experience in health care and financial management, business strategy, operations, and mergers and acquisitions to the Board’s diverse skill set.

Mr. Ertel commented, “I’m honored to accept the appointment of Director on HealthWell Foundation’s Board. The Foundation’s mission is one that I have been passionate about throughout my career in health care. Providing a financial lifeline to America’s underinsured is a noble and commendable service for those who would otherwise forgo critical medical treatments due to cost. I look forward to collaborating with the Board and the senior management team to identify and implement innovative strategies to bolster HealthWell’s initiatives.”

To learn more, visit the Who We Are section of our website. We hope you’ll join us in welcoming Mr. Ertel to our Board!

Fund Openings and Updates

Earlier this fall, we were excited to announce the launch of our newest fund to assist Medicare patients living with neurocognitive disease who also suffer from psychosis. Through the fund, we provide copayment or insurance premium assistance up to $10,000 to eligible Medicare patients who have household incomes up to 500 percent of the federal poverty level.

To learn more about our Neurocognitive Disease with Psychosis – Medicare Access Fund and other disease areas we cover, visit our Disease Funds page.

We are always looking for ways to further streamline our process to make working with the HealthWell Foundation as easy as possible. I’m excited to share the news that our new Spanish language application is now live! In addition to the application, we expanded the content on our Español page and created a new version of our Disease Funds list in Spanish!

Our goal is, and always has been, to assist as many patients as possible through our programs. As part of that effort, we carefully monitor our funds to determine where we can make adjustments to achieve that goal. With that in mind, I’m happy to share that we recently enhanced our Cystic Fibrosis Treatments Fund to include premium assistance. Now, individuals living with CF have the option of selecting either medication copayment or insurance premium assistance to help with out-of-pocket costs to manage their condition. Check out our Cystic Fibrosis Treatments Fund page to learn more. Also, as a reminder – if you haven’t signed up for Real-Time Fund Alerts, we encourage you to do so! By signing up today, you will receive instant notifications if the status of a fund changes (such as this one) via email.

Conferences and Presentations

Healthcare Advocate Summit

Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit

As we slowly begin to resume normal activities, we were excited to be back on the road attending live, in-person conferences. We were thrilled to take part in the first Healthcare Advocate Summit sponsored by the National Association of Medication Access & Patient Advocacy (NAMAPA), which was held in Galveston, Texas in September. During the inaugural meeting, the team exhibited and hosted a panel discussion to share valuable information about our programs and services, discuss our state-of-the-art portals to enroll patients and manage grants, and learn first-hand from the mother of a HealthWell Pediatric Assistance Fund® grant recipient just how much a grant has helped her daughter and her family. It was truly an honor to participate in the summit and we look forward to being onsite with this amazing group again in 2022!

The team recently exhibited at the Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit in Las Vegas. We were delighted to increase our presence and spread the word about our program with visitors who stopped by our booth. We were also honored to hear from attendees who were familiar with our services and to know that they applaud and value our life-changing work.

In early October, our Chief Development Officer, Alan Klein, moderated a timely discussion during the Advocacy and Policy Panel: Analyze State and Federal Progress Regulating Copay Programs, during the Coupon and Copay Conference in Philadelphia.

In December, the team is heading to Atlanta to exhibit at the 63rd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition. If you are attending the meeting, we hope you’ll take a few minutes to stop by booth #3132 to meet the HealthWell team!

It’s exciting to be back on the road and I look forward to sharing our 2022 conference line up with you early next year.

Resources from Our Valued Alliance Partners

Identifying and connecting with organizations that help us spread the word about the life-changing work we do is a critical component in reaching disease-specific communities. Our dedicated network of alliance partners is a vital part of our total-patient-care strategy. Through these relationships, we are able to spread the word about our funds and the disease areas we support, cross refer patients, and share resources within specific disease communities, reaffirming our commitment to assisting patients in need. Since my last letter, we had the privilege of working with the Huntington’s Disease Society of America and the Parkinson & Movement Disorder Alliance (PMD Alliance) to help us spread the word about our newest fund.

We were also proud to share interesting and timely posts from valued partners through our sponsored blog, Real World Health Care. Visit our  Alliance Partners page to learn about the other amazing organizations we work with who share our commitment to assist those in need.

Support Through Social

We were honored to have been selected as the organization to receive proceeds from Taylor Wynn’s (@taylorwynn) new fundraiser. Taylor Wynn is a content creator who loves testing makeup, traveling, hunting for the best burrito money can buy, and helping people embrace the skin they’re in. Through her YouTube channel, Taylor showcases products that work best for her skin tone and skin concerns in order to help others find the products that can help them feel beautiful in the skin they were born in.

While Taylor works hard to bring new content to her followers, she also struggles with a chronic illness: migraine. According to the Migraine Research Foundation, migraine is typically a severe throbbing recurring pain, usually on one side of the head. But in about 1/3 of attacks, both sides are affected. Attacks are often accompanied by disabling symptoms such as visual disturbances, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, extreme sensitivity to sound, light, touch and smell, and tingling or numbness in the extremities or face. In some cases, other disabling symptoms are present without head pain.

After living with chronic migraine and other chronic conditions for over 16 years, Taylor has undergone dozens of surgeries, injections, and treatments searching for relief. Taylor often finds herself staring at a $1,000 copay after a treatment, and while she was fortunate enough to be able to manage the cost, she frequently wondered about what resources are available for those who can’t afford their medication copayments or insurance premiums. When Taylor found out about HealthWell’s charitable copayment assistance program, she knew she wanted to find a way to help spread the word to help individuals and families in need.

Together with the Anchored Northwest team based in Spokane, WA, Taylor launched a fundraising campaign featuring three hand-poured, wood wick candles that she helped to co-create. The candles can be purchased individually or as a set. We are truly honored that Taylor is donating 20% of the proceeds from the Love You Loads candle sales to benefit the HealthWell Foundation’s programs.

Thank you, Taylor, for your generous support of our mission and for helping us assist those in need.

Giving Hope, Giving Help, Giving Tuesday

As we enter the giving season, the team and I wanted to take this opportunity to let you know just how much a donation to the HealthWell Foundation means to those who are living with chronic, life-altering, diseases. We recently received a wonderful letter from Nelly, the wife of Tom who is living with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease). When we read the letter, it was very clear that Tom and Nelly were in dire straits. We are proud to be able to assist Tom through a grant from our ALS Fund and wanted to share their kind letter with you.

This year, we are sharing Tom’s courageous story as the focus of our Giving Tuesday campaign. We hope that you will take a moment to read Nelly’s heartfelt words and know that your donations to the HealthWell Foundation are changing lives every day!

Your support allows us to provide a financial lifeline to the tens of thousands of patients who reach out to us each year to help with the cost of life-changing medical treatments – treatments that many would go without due to cost. Remember that 100% of your tax-deductible donation is put to work immediately to assist people living with chronic, life-altering, illnesses. Your generous support will help us say “Yes, we can help you” today!

We know there are many organizations worthy of your contributions and we are honored by your continued support of our mission. There are many ways you can support our life-changing, oftentimes lifesaving, work!

1. Visit our Giving Tuesday campaign on, or before, November 30, 2021, and help us spread the word through your social communities.
2. Create a Facebook fundraiser to commemorate a birthday, anniversary or other special occasion.
3. Make a tax-deductible contribution.
4. Donate in the name of a friend or loved one.
5. Include the HealthWell Foundation in your estate plans.
6. Spread the word about the important work we do by sharing your HealthWell story.

Can’t make a financial contribution? You can help by spreading the word about the life-changing work we do. Connect with us through our social communities!

Helping us spread the word is a critical and valued contribution to the HealthWell Foundation. Thank you for helping us help others in any way you can!

Wishing you and yours safety and good health and a happy, healthy holiday season. The HealthWell Team