Advancing Healthcare Access: Celebrating 2024 As We Look Ahead to 2025

As we look back at this at this year, we reflect on the progress made in supporting those living with a rare disease or chronic condition.  As we have for the past 35 years, we’ve made strides in providing financial assistance, healthcare education, and legal aid to address multiple facets of the patient’s experience. Looking ahead, we’re excited to build on this momentum by offering critical resources to underserved populations and advocating for patient-centered policies that create meaningful, measurable outcomes for the individuals that we serve.

2024 – A Year of Impact

This past year, we’ve made a number of advancements that we are particularly proud of. We expanded our reach through new disease programs, allowing us to provide essential resources to even more people navigating the challenges of chronic conditions. We also enhanced both our online application process and patient portal experiences, making it easier for individuals to request financial assistance to access their account information with ease.

With a focus on increased education, we hosted a series of webinars throughout the year, covering topics such as Overcoming Healthcare Access Barriers, Navigating SSDI and SSI Programs, Understanding Open Enrollment, and the Inflation Reduction Act’s impact on Medicare.

Finally, our team shared their expertise at national conferences, collaborating with industry leaders and patient advocacy organizations to amplify the voices of the communities we serve. We were honored to have the opportunity to join the National Health Council and the Forbes Nonprofit Council. In addition, we were named a Healthy People 2030 Champion. Each of these initiatives was driven by our holistic, whole-person approach to care, ensuring that we not only address healthcare barriers but also support the emotional and social well-being of the people that we serve.

2025 – Our Vision for Health Equity and Progress

As we look forward to 2025, we are approaching familiar challenges with renewed energy and innovative ideas. Healthcare costs remain a significant barrier, but cost is just one piece of a much larger puzzle. Social determinants of health (SDOH)—such as housing, education, and access to nutritious food—continue to play a critical role in access to care and health outcomes. Addressing these systemic issues requires policies that take all these factors into account.

Next year, our mission is to continue to relieve the financial burdens of healthcare, while also providing education and advocacy support for the individuals that we serve. To do so, we will be intensifying our advocacy efforts by engaging with lawmakers to address policies that will impact systemic healthcare barriers.

We have our eye on legislation like the All Copays Count Act, which ensures that copayments made on behalf of patients count toward their out-of-pocket maximums, and the Safe Step Act, which addresses delays in care caused by step therapy practices. These policies will be critical to ensuring equitable access to care. Additionally, we’re monitoring updates from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) so we can continue to inform our patient population about how the Inflation Reduction Act will bring about changes that may affect them.

Additionally, partnering with advocacy groups and community organizations will ensure that the needs of patients are prioritized in this evolving healthcare landscape.

We want to thank everyone who has helped us to make 2024 a success. We look forward to an even brighter 2025 as we continue to make healthcare more accessible and affordable.