HOW ONE ORGANIZATION IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN AMERICAN HEALTHCARE

A REPORT BY ANTHONY ZUEFELDT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction to a problem..Pg 2 A prelude.....Pg 3 Prelude II..Pg 4 Prelude III.Pg 5 A solution in the HealthWell Foundation...Pg 6 Benefits of the HealthWell Foundation...Pg 7 Further InformationPg 8 BibliographyPg 9

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INTRODUCTION TO A PROBLEM

James Richard Verone, a resident of the Gaston County Jail, awaits a prison sentence for robbing a bank for$1.00.Verone passed a note to a bank teller, demanding one dollar, and then told the teller that he would wait on a bench in the bank for the police to arrest him.

What pushes a man who has spent his whole life working, earning a steady paycheck, to commit a felony that will lock him away in prison, regardless of its temerity? Verone sits in the Gaston County Jail, awaiting a prison sentence, because he had to get to jail; his life depended on it. Verone has serious medical issues necessitating surgeries for his back and feet, along with a tumor growing in his chest. Preceding his robbery, Verone mailed a letter to the local police force forewarning his robbery, stating that he was of sound mind, but not so much sound body (Pilkington). Unemployed, without insurance, Verone experienced one of the darker aspects of modern society; his life and wellness was assigned a monetary value that far exceeded his actual monetary worth (Jilani). Despite the United States efforts, no legal safety net presented itself to save Verone. That left him with a last resort. In the 1976 Supreme Court case Estelle vs.Gamble, all prisoners were endowed with the right to health care (Paris). Prisoners in America receive free health care. In prison, Verone will receive the medical care he desperately needs, but could not get as a law-abiding citizen.

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A PRELUDE
In the United States of America, the Hippocratic Oath does not always apply to people who cannot afford to pay for health care. Since health care is viewed as acommodity, and consequently as a business, profitability often supersedes the value of human wellness. Every medical procedure has a cost; doctors visits, surgeries, prescription drugs, everything. (Papadimos) The slippery slope arises when the cost of medical procedures exceeds the patients ability to pay for such procedures. If the ability to save a life is there, to treat a cancer, to transplant a failing organ, but the financial means are not, what is the ethical responsibility of society? Is a persons life worth less than $114,500 it costs on average to treat an individual case of cancer (Rich)? Conversely, at what level does the cost of treatment become too much to pursue? Who should be responsible for paying for the costs of health care? There are no easy answers with clear solutions to these questions. In 2009, President Obama passed the Affordable Care Act which sought toredefine the governments answers to some of these questions. A central component of the act was to guarantee every American the right and ability to obtain health insurance. In 2011, with the act not yet fully implemented, over 52 million Americans like James Verone remain uninsured (Weschler).

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A PRELUDE
Compounding the prevalence of uninsured, is a weakened global economy that has driven to a 9.1% unemployment rate, with only 58.1% of the U.S. labor force employed, the lowest levels since the 1980s (Isadore). According to Katherine Baicker, workers who leave or lose a job risk losing their insurance or facing much higher premiums (Myths and Misconceptions). After seventeen years of employment as a truck driver for coco cola, James Verone became one of these unemployed, losing his health insurance provided by the company in the process(Pilkington). The Affordable Care Act will hopefully prevent another person from following Verones desperate path to prison by providing every American with health insurance. However, it does not address a growing issue just as serious; the underinsured, a group of twenty-five to forty-two million people (HealthWell Foundation). Underinsured people have health insurance that does not adequately cover their health costs. It is loosely defined as people who spent 10 percent of their income or more on medical expenses (Health Care Problems). The insurance industry generally has copayment policies that require people to pay a certain amount for health matters, in addition to paying for their insurance. This financial burden can often overwhelm people, no matter their means. Aroundeleven percent of middle class to upper class Americans are underinsured.Underscoring the dangerous financial burden of being underinsured, over fifty percent of personal bankruptcies are due to medical expenses (Health Care Problems). Lifesavings can be wiped out, houses foreclosed on, or worse, premature death can result in an inability or refusal to pay for further medical care.
Medical Insurance Percentages of U.S. Population
Insured 75% Underinsured 8% Not Insured 17%

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A PRELUDE
Even when covered by health insurance, underinsured cancer patients face mounting out-of-pocket expenses that force some to avoid filling prescriptions, skip doctor appointments, and scale back on food and other necessities (Knowlton). Rising copayment insurance plans are only exacerbating the issue, which according to Jonathan Rockhof of the Wall Street Journal has resulted in a 55% increase in patients refusing to pick up refilled prescriptions since 2006 (Rockhof). The root of the problems is not easily identified, but health costs are outpacing inflation. Health insurance companies proceed to pass the costs on to the consumer(Keehan, et al).

With health costs constantly rising, the financial burden of health care is increasingly falling on the shoulders of the patient.

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A SOLUTION
The HealthWell Foundation was established in 2003 toaddress the needs of individuals with insurance who cannot afford their copayments, coinsurance, and premiums for important medical treatments. [Their] vision is to ensure that no patient goes without health care because they cannot afford it (HealthWell Foundationl). The primary goal of HealthWell is to provide insurance copay assistance to the underinsured. HealthWell aims to alleviate these extraordinary financial burdens by providing financial assistance to these people. As the Affordable Care Act expands the ranks of Americans with insurance with insufficient coverage, the role of organizations that provide further financial assistance will grow (Robertson). Healthwell offers a wide range of aid to people dealing with financial issues from medical care. This includes financial counseling, financial consulting, patient advocacy, as well as direct financial aid. HealthWell allocates its financial aid in a consistent manner through an objective criteria in accordance with applicable laws (HealthWell Foundation). The foundation is privately funded through corporate and private donations. It remains independent of any single donor. HealthWell services most of the United States, with residents of Florida, Texas, and California receiving the largest share of financial aid (HealthWell Foundation).

Percentage of HealthWell patients by region (HealthWell Foundation) -6-

BENEFITS
HealthWell Foundation will provide financial assistance to anybody in need of assistance. Over 54,000 people were given direct financial aid in 2010 (HealthWell Foundation). The foundation runs a large counseling center, providing information to those in need of solutions to financial costs of medical care. Over 21,000 people benefit from these counseling sessions each month as they provide information on how to successfully negotiate rates and copayments with insurance companies, better protecting their job during medical situations, managing their personal finances. Additionally, these counselors will provide people with alternative foundations that they might have a better chance of qualifying for direct financial aid from. People can apply for financial aid and those who qualify can receive direct cash contributions to the insurance copayments. Over $144 million was given out in aid in 2010 (HealthWell Foundation). HealthWell provides aid to all people. It is not specific to a certain type of cancer of medical treatment. If a person can show proof of serious financial hardship caused by medical bills, they will be considered for direct financial assistance. In the future, with the Affordable Care Act enabling everyone to obtain health insurance, and organizations like the HealthWell Foundation providing further financial assistance, men like James Verone should never have to sacrifice their freedom so that they may live in good health.
Percentage of HealthWell patients by disease (HealthWell Foundation)

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FURTHER INFORMATION ON HEALTHWELL

For more information about the HealthWell Foundation, please visit their website at www.healthwellfoundation.org. HealthWell can use volunteer help assisting others with your financial knowledge, organizational skills, fundraising, and just spreading the message of HealthWell, that you are not alone in your struggles with health care. They can be contacted at: P.O. Box 4133 Gaithersburg, MD 20885-4133 Phone: (800) 675-8416 Fax: (800) 282-7692 Email: info@healthwellfoundation.org

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BIBIOGRAPHY
"Health Care Statistics."Health Care Problems.N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Aug. 2011. "HealthWell Foundation." HealthWell Foundation.N.p., n.d. Web. 30 July 2011. "Surge in Underinsured, Self-pay? Use these Tips."Hospital Case Management. 19.5 (2011): 77-9. PubMedPrint. Isidore, Chris. "Unemployment doesn't show how bad the job market really is - Aug. 8, 2011." CNNMoney.N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Aug. 2011. Jilani, Zaid. "Shame Of America: Desperate Man Robs Store For One Dollar In Order To Go To Jail To Get Health Coverage." ThinkProgress.N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Aug. 2011. Keehan, Sean, et al. "National Health Spending Projections Through 2020: Economic Recovery And Reform Drive Faster Spending Growth." NCBI. 1 (2011): 4..Web.PubMed31 July 2011. Knowlton, David. "Seize the Day." MLO-Online Apr. 2009: 60. Web. 29 July 2011. Papadimos, Thomas. "Healthcare Access as a Right, Not a Privilege: a Construct of Western Thought."Philosophies, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine 2.2 (2007): 18. Directory of Open Access Journals.Web. 31 July 2011. Paris, Joseph. "Why Prisoners Deserve Health Care." Virtual Mentor: American Medical Association Journal of Ethics .N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Aug. 2011. Robertson, Ruth. "Realizing Health Reform's Potential: Women at Risk: Why Increasing Numbers of Women are Failing to Get the Health Care They Need and How the Affordable Care Act will Help. Findings from the Commonwealth Fund Biennial Health Insurance Survey of 2010.." Findings from the Commonwealth Fund Biennial Health Insurance Survey of 2010. 3 (2011): 1-23. Print. Wechsler, Pat. "Americans Without Health Insurance Rise to 52 Million on Job Loss, Expense." Bloomberg.N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Aug. 2011. Yuting Zhang, et al. How the Medicare Part D Drug Benefit Changed the Distribution of Out-of-Pocket Pharmacy Spending Among Older Beneficiaries Oxford Journals. Dec 14, 2009. Print.
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