HealthWell Foundation Opens Fund to Assist People Living with Neuroendocrine Tumors

New Fund Offers Copayment or Insurance Premium Assistance

, /PRNewswire/ -- The HealthWell Foundation^®, an independent non-profit charitable organization that provides financial assistance for underinsured Americans has launched a new fund to assist individuals living with neuroendocrine tumors. Through the fund, HealthWell will provide up to $15,000 in medication copayment or insurance premium assistance to patients for prescription drugs and biologics for the treatment of their disease. Eligible patients must have household incomes up to 500 percent of the federal poverty level.

Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are rare, often slow-growing, tumors that begin in neuroendocrine cells and can occur anywhere in the body. The most common sites for NETs to occur are the digestive system, lungs, and pancreas, and can spread (metastasize) to other parts of the body. NETs can be difficult to diagnosis as symptoms can mimic other diseases. Symptoms can include abdominal pain, flushing, diarrhea, heart palpitations, changes in weight, high or low blood pressure, and wheezing, among others. Many patients are mis-diagnosed and treated for the wrong disease for up to 5 years. Early diagnosis and proper treatment of NETs are critical to favorable outcomes. NET diagnoses are increasing by more than 5 percent annually and as many as 175,000 patients are living in the United States.

"Once a proper diagnosis is given, there are countless doctor's visits and a multitude of medications, many of which are life-long treatments. As a person living with neuroendocrine cancer for over two decades, I understand the emotional and financial hardship that accompanies this disease," said Maryann Wahmann, Executive Director, Neuroendocrine Cancer Awareness Network (NCAN). "Treating NETs is expensive and may be cost prohibitive for many. We applaud HealthWell for recognizing the financial burden treatment imparts on people living with NETs and for providing resources to ensure that they can access and continue proper treatment."

Michael S. Heimall, President & CEO, HealthWell Foundation, commented on the fund, "We are excited to add neuroendocrine tumors to our disease fund portfolio and to help ease the financial burden for people living with NETs. Thank you to our donors for addressing this critical, unmet need so NET patients can focus on obtaining and adhering to their treatment regimen and not the cost."

To determine eligibility and apply for assistance, visit HealthWell's Neuroendocrine Tumors Fund page. Note that all new fund openings and fund re-openings occur at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (8:00 a.m. Pacific) Monday through Friday. To learn more about HealthWell programs and our robust disease fund portfolio, visit our website at HealthWellFoundation.org.

About NCAN
The Neuroendocrine Cancer Awareness Network (NCAN) is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness of Neuroendocrine Cancer, providing support for caregivers and people with NETs, and funding for NET cancer research. Since 2003, it has been their mission, or as they like to say, their passion, to educate and support the NET community as a whole. To learn more about NCAN, visit netcancerawareness.org.

About the HealthWell Foundation
A nationally recognized, independent non-profit organization founded in 2003 and a resource to the White House Cancer Moonshot Initiative, the HealthWell Foundation has served as a safety net across over 90 disease areas for more than 1.1 million underinsured patients. Since its inception, HealthWell has provided over $4.8 billion in financial support through more than 1.8 million grants to access life-changing medical treatments patients otherwise would not be able to afford. HealthWell provides financial assistance to adults and children facing medical hardship resulting from gaps in their insurance that cause out-of-pocket medical expenses to escalate rapidly; HealthWell assists with the treatment-related cost-sharing obligations of these patients. HealthWell ranked 24th on the 2024 Forbes list of America's Top 100 Charities and was recognized for its 100 percent fundraising efficiency. For more information, visit HealthWellFoundation.org.

CONTACT:
Ginny Dunn
240-632-5309
[email protected] 

SOURCE HealthWell Foundation