Medication, Food or Daily Needs? Choices Nobody Should Have to Make

The headline last month was dispiriting: Millions of Americans are skipping meals or cutting back on utilities to afford health care.

This was among the findings of a recent survey from the West Health-Gallup Center on Healthcare in America, a joint initiative to report the voices and experiences of Americans within the health care system.

The survey revealed that roughly one-third of Americans – the equivalent of more than 82 million people – are cutting back on a wide range of expenses including groceries, utilities, and driving. They are stretching out doses of prescription drugs, borrowing money, and revising long-term planning and major life decisions to help afford their health care expenses. The poll found that even middle-income households are feeling the strain.

At the HealthWell Foundation, we don’t need a poll to tell us that Americans are struggling with high health care costs. We hear from patients every day about the real financial obstacles they and their families face when living with a chronic or life-altering illness.

We are honored that they can turn to us for assistance. Thanks to our generous corporate and individual donors, HealthWell continues to be a financial safety net for underinsured Americans so they can access medical treatments they otherwise could not afford.

Read on to discover how we’re helping those who often have nowhere else to turn.

Explore Our Year in Review

In our last issue of The Pulse, we offered a glimpse of HealthWell’s most significant milestones for 2025. The full preliminary unaudited results of our 2025 operations are now available in our 2025 Year in Review.

Our Year in Review notes that in 2025, our donors’ generosity resulted in approximately $530 million* in financial support, which allowed us to award over $1.1 billion* in medication copayment and insurance premium assistance through more than 440,000* grants to over 420,000* underinsured patients.

Thank you to all who helped us ensure that those living with chronic or life-altering diseases have access to critical medical treatments they otherwise would not be able to afford.

Avoid Multiple Submissions!

HealthWell strives to streamline our processes and provide timely support for patients, so we can get them the assistance they need quickly. Recently, we have experienced a significant increase in the number of diagnosis verification documents we receive, leading to longer processing times, delayed verifications, and high call volumes.

We ask all patients, providers, and pharmacies to submit only one diagnosis verification form, through one channel, per patient. Duplicate submissions create multiple cases in our system and can significantly delay processing time.

Thank you for your cooperation in helping us process documents more efficiently so we can continue to provide timely assistance to patients.

Your Donation Really Does Make a Difference

We opened this edition of The Pulse by describing the worrisome choices Americans are forced to make when health care is not affordable. These are choices nobody wants to make, and with your help, they won’t have to.

With so much need, you may wonder whether your donation makes a difference. The answer is unequivocally YES! Your donation – no matter how small – really does change lives in meaningful ways.

Below, Lauren B., a recipient of a HealthWell Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) grant, relays the worry she and her family faced before HealthWell changed her life. After reading Lauren’s words, think about whether you were touched by her story – whether you could picture yourself in a similar situation if diagnosed with a life-altering condition. You can turn that connection and concern into action and help people like Lauren by donating to HealthWell today.

Would We Have to Sell Our Home to Pay for My Medication?

“When I was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) 8 months ago, I had no idea how it would change everything in my life, and I do mean EVERYTHING. It first started in my legs; I couldn’t stand up to walk. I couldn’t lift my feet over the threshold of the shower to enjoy the feeling of warm water on my back. I couldn’t reach the faucet in the sink to wash my hands because by then I was in a wheelchair. I also experienced how it must feel to drown because at times, even when drinking water, it would (as they say), go down the wrong pipe; I couldn’t get air in or out. I’ve gotten weaker every day and sound like I have a frog in my throat because the muscles in my throat and chest have been atrophied and my coughs are little soft sounds, not productive.

They also tell me I will not be able to speak or swallow in the near future and will probably need a feeding tube. Eeeck!

The ALS Clinic, my doctor, and the therapists have all been great; and I am blessed with a wonderful husband and daughter who are my primary caregivers; and so many dear friends who show up with dinner or help fold laundry or wipe down the kitchen counter for me. All things I did at one time, taking them for granted.

But the thing I worried about the most was deciding whether we would have to sell our home to pay for medication that would help slow the disease down or not take the medication at all. Then one day, one of my therapists asked if I’d ever heard of the HealthWell Foundation. I had not.

Even though I wasn’t very hopeful, I looked up the HealthWell Foundation’s phone number and dialed. WOW! That call changed my life! From the person who answered that call to each and every big-hearted person who has graciously donated to the Foundation, I am so grateful. I encourage everyone reading this to tell anyone in your life facing a medical challenge to make the call to the HealthWell Foundation.”

HealthWell Ad Campaigns Bring Our Story to Those Who Need & Support Us

On the heels of HealthWell’s first TV ad campaign, which saw 1.3+ million spots airing over 10,796 hours and reaching more than 322,000 households in Florida, we are taking our message to other areas of the country.

In March, we launched a digital billboard, outdoor billboard and mobile geofencing campaign in Philadelphia to coincide with the timing of the PAP Patient Assistance & Access Programs Conference. Designed to increase awareness of the HealthWell brand, the campaign resulted in an estimated 8.99+ million billboard impressions and 555,555 geofencing impressions.

We took our message south targeting downtown New Orleans to coincide, in part, with the American College of Cardiology conference where we promoted our cardiology funds. The campaign netted over 3.1 million billboard impressions and over half a million geofencing impressions.

           

HealthWell Moderated Panel and Exhibited at Asembia’s AXS26 Summit

HealthWell again took a lead role at Asembia’s annual AXS Summit, held this year April 27-29 in Las Vegas.

At the Summit, HealthWell President & CEO, Michael Heimall, FACHE, moderated a panel discussion, The Role of Specialty Pharmacies When Working with Charitable Patient Assistance Programs (CPAPs), on Tuesday, April 28, 2026. This timely discussion focused on independent foundations that help hundreds of thousands of patients each year with medication copayments and insurance premiums. Panelists shared best practices for applying on a patient’s behalf, ensuring accurate diagnoses and eligibility details, and understanding the legal and patient impacts of non-compliance. The session also addressed the rising concern of alternative funding programs (AFPs).

HealthWell also exhibited at the Summit.  The team welcomed visitors to talk about our programs and services and how we work together with specialty pharmacies to assist patients in need. Don’t forget to visit our Conference schedule to see where we’re going next!

Webinar Now Available On Demand – Supporting Patients Together: Financial Assistance Across the Continuum of Care

In February, HealthWell launched Financial Toxicity & Patient Navigation: A Solutions-Focused Webinar Series. Our first webinar in the series, Supporting Patients Together: Financial Assistance Across the Continuum of Care, was well attended and offered the option for CME/CE credits through the Postgraduate Institute for Medicine.

If you missed the webinar, no worries! You can access it online here to learn how to:

• Define financial toxicity and describe the key drivers and the impact of financial toxicity on patients.
• Explain how screening for financial hardship at every stage is essential and how it influences treatment decisions and outcomes.
• Recognize common myths about financial burdens in health care and list a range of financial challenges patients and caregivers face beyond medication costs.
• Identify actionable programs, tools, and services that leading organizations offer to support patients navigating financial challenges.

Stay tuned for new webinars throughout 2026. Visit Financial Toxicity & Patient Navigation: A Solutions-Focused Webinar Series to learn more.

Bridging Coverage and Care in 2026

At the 2026 Network for Collaborative Oncology Development & Advancement (NCODA) International Spring Forum, HealthWell President & CEO, Michael Heimall, FACHE, joined co-panelist Laura Beilke, Esq., of Triage Cancer and moderator Joan Martens, CPhT, RPhT, of the American Oncology Network, in a session “Bridging Coverage and Care in 2026: Medicare OOP Changes, MP3, and Patient Financial Support.”

The session explored key Medicare out-of-pocket (MOOP) changes, the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, and the role of benefit verification, clear communication, and financial navigation in reducing financial toxicity.

HealthWell Executives Featured in Oncolytics Today

With a reach of over 10,000 oncology and urology health professionals, Oncolytics Today is the flagship publication of NCODA and is published to empower the medically integrated oncology pharmacy practice.

The journal’s Spring 2026 issue, dedicated to the theme of patient-centered care, featured an article authored by Fred Larbi, MBA, HealthWell’s Chief Operations Officer, and Sarina Robbins, MBA, MHA, our Director of Development and Growth.

“Financial Relief for Multiple Myeloma: HealthWell Foundation Provides Support,” details the financial burden faced by those living with the disease and relates the story of a recipient of a HealthWell Multiple Myeloma – Medicare Access grant.

Thank you NCODA for providing this platform to illustrate the importance of the work we do to help those living with multiple myeloma.

Help Us Spread the Word

When people learn about HealthWell, they are spurred to action – whether it’s a new patient or caregiver who reaches out to us for assistance or a generous individual who honors the work we do with a donation.

That’s why helping us spread the word about HealthWell is a critical and highly valued contribution. Here are just a few ideas of how you can help us communicate about the life-changing work we do:

1. Create a Facebook fundraiser to commemorate a birthday, anniversary, or other special occasion.
2. Share your HealthWell story with others.
3. Connect with HealthWell on our social channels through the links below.