Thanks to Kate Lacouture of Help Hope Live for this week’s guest blog post.
A cancer diagnosis is a medical concern as well as a financial concern. Financial toxicity is closely associated with cancer treatment due to of the rising costs of chemotherapy, medication, surgical procedures, and post-care. As healthcare costs increase, many cancer-related expenses fall to patients and their families to pay out-of-pocket. These increased out-of-pocket expenses may include higher deductibles, rising copayments, and the need for coinsurance. These out-of-pocket expenses are higher among patients with cancer than among patients with other medical conditions.
Patients who are experiencing financial toxicity related to cancer care frequently compensate by taking less medication than prescribed, replacing prescription medications with over-the-counter drugs, and taking medications prescribed for others in order to defray costs. Some patients are also being forced to skip appointments and are declining procedures because of costs.
According to a study published last year by the American Journal of Medicine, more than 42 percent of the 9.5 million people diagnosed with cancer from 2000 to 2012 drained their assets within two years. Cancer patients are also 2.65 times more likely to file for bankruptcy, which puts them at a higher risk for early death, according to research. As a result of these growing expenses, even patients with insurance may require financial assistance.
Help Hope Live is a community-based fundraising nonprofit dedicated to working with patients who are attempting to navigate the financial burden of a catastrophic illness diagnoses, including cancer. Help Hope Live is there for patients who require financial assistance to pay for out-of-pocket expenses such as deductibles, medication, physical therapy, temporary relocation, lab work, caregiver expenses, and durable medical equipment.
Help Hope Live works directly with patients to support community-based fundraising so they do not have to make the choice to take less medication or forgo procedures because of financial limitations. Help Hope Live provides personal support to patients to begin their fundraising efforts by creating personalized Campaign Pages, providing materials such as flyers and online event registration pages for fundraising events, and directly paying medical vendors to lighten the administrative burden. A priority of Help Hope Live is to make fundraising and paying bills as simple as possible to allow clients to focus on their treatment and recovery.
Help Hope Live is unique because donations are tax deductible, funds can only be used to pay for medical and related expenses, patients can keep their asset-based assistance since the nonprofit manages all funds raised, and all campaigns are medically verified. Friends, neighbors, and family can help to manage fundraising efforts as fundraising team members. Theses members can view each client’s Campaign Page on our website to donate, read and post Updates, and share to social media with ease.
Client Services Coordinators at Help Hope Live are available to ease the stress, answer questions, and provide suggestions related to community-based fundraising in conjunction with multiple other team members in Finance, Communications, and other areas. Once fundraising efforts begin, Client Services Coordinators continue to support clients and answer all questions related to their fundraising for the lifetime of the campaign. Since the organization was founded by a surgeon and his wife, a nurse, in 1983, Help Hope Live has helped more than 9,000 families and raised over 140 million dollars to defray medical and related costs for our clients. The nonprofit has maintained the highest-possible 4-star rating from Charity Navigator for 16 consecutive years.
Help Hope Live understands the initial uncertainties of fundraising, but with a higher success rate than for-profit crowdfunding platforms like GoFundMe, the supportive team works with clients to create a community and engage community members that they may have not been able to reach without Help Hope Live, leading to both financial and emotional support. Clients who have worked with Help Hope Live are part of a larger family. Individuals diagnosed with cancer can feel as though they are never alone in their struggles with cancer-related medical costs. The team at Help Hope Live works compassionately and diligently to set clients up for success.
Help Hope Live understands that medical expenses continue for patients with specific illnesses and complications and that these needs can evolve and increase over time for families living with cancer. That’s why individuals can continue fundraising as long as their medical and financial needs continue.
To start a fundraising campaign with Help Hope Live, apply here. You can see real examples of Help Hope Live campaigns in progress on the Help Hope Live Blog and by following the nonprofit on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.