Advocacy for Access on Capitol Hill

Every patient deserves timely, affordable access to the care they need. On September 16, Accessia Health returned to Capitol Hill for our latest Advocacy for Access day, meeting with Senators, Representatives, and their staff to talk about how legislation can remove barriers to care and ease the financial strain on patients and families.

The Cost of Waiting

For patients managing complex health conditions, delays in treatment or confusing authorization processes can have real consequences. Beyond the physical impact, the financial burden of navigating insurance and other healthcare expenses adds an additional layer of stress. Accessia Health works to alleviate these challenges by connecting patients with resources that make care more affordable and accessible.

The Legislation We’re Championing

Several bills currently under consideration in Congress are designed to improve patient access:

• Ensuring Patient Access to Critical Breakthrough Products Act: When the FDA identifies a device as a “breakthrough,” this legislation creates a faster, temporary Medicare coverage pathway while a full coverage decision is being finalized.
• HELP Copays Act: Focuses on reducing financial barriers by addressing out-of-pocket costs.
• Improving Care in Rural America Reauthorization Act: This bill strengthens federal programs that fund health care services in rural communities, where access to care is often limited. It also supports local providers in delivering preventive screenings, managing chronic diseases, and expanding telehealth services so patients can get care closer to home.
• Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act: Seeks to ensure older adults can receive care without unnecessary delays.
• PBM Price Transparency & Accountability Act: Increases oversight of pharmacy benefit managers, the middlemen that negotiate drug prices. It aims to eliminate hidden pricing practices and require greater transparency in how drug costs are set and passed along.
• Safe Step Act – The Safe Step Act is proposed federal legislation designed to place reasonable guardrails and a clear exceptions process on “step therapy” (or “fail first”) protocols used by group health plans.

Real Stories, Real Change

Policy conversations are most powerful when they are grounded in real experience, and that is exactly what our Accessia Health advocates bring. During Advocacy for Access, patients and advocates sat across from legislators and shared how delays in care and financial stress shape their daily lives. They spoke openly and courageously, turning statistics into stories that are hard to ignore.

Our advocates are not just participants in this process. They are its driving force. Their willingness to give their time, their voices, and their personal stories reminds decision-makers that every bill on the table affects real people. We are grateful to each advocate who joined us, and to everyone who continues to speak up from home.

We also want to thank our Washington correspondents team at the Health and Medicine Counsel, whose guidance and organizational expertise helped make these meetings possible.

“Together, we sat down with offices across the Senate and House, making the case for expanded and ease of access to care for the patients we serve every day,” said President Tiara Green. “We brought their stories into these rooms…the real, human impact of chronic and rare conditions, and what it means when assistance programs stand between someone and the care they need.”

Your Voice Keeps the Work Going

Advocacy doesn’t end with one day on Capitol Hill. Accessia Health remains committed to championing policies that put patients first, and we couldn’t do it without our advocates and partners. Together, we’re working toward a future where every patient has timely, transparent, and affordable access to care.

To see more behind-the-scenes photos, learn more about our current advocacy efforts and legislative priorities, and to find out how you can get involved, visit our Advocacy & Policy page. Every voice counts, and yours could be the one that makes the difference.