Patients Rising

05/28/2026

Michelle knows what it means to fight for care that should never have been difficult to access in the first place.

After her daughter Leslie was diagnosed with Prader-Willi syndrome nearly 28 years ago, Michelle found herself battling insurance companies for therapies, medications and support services that directly impact quality of life.

Instead of stepping back, she stepped further into advocacy.

Michelle went on to serve as a board member and Board Chair of PWSA/USA, later expanding her work into government-level advocacy because she believes real change happens when lawmakers hear directly from patients and caregivers living these issues every day.

As part of the Patients Rising Patient Senate, Michelle brings a perspective shaped by decades of experience navigating Medicaid, insurance barriers and the long-term realities families face when care systems fail to communicate across state lines. She is passionate about improving Medicaid portability for adults with disabilities, reforming the role of PBMs and ensuring patient voices are part of policy conversations from the beginning, not as an afterthought.

We appreciate your advocacy, Michelle!

05/27/2026

A study published from last year from the National Consumers League released results of a poll taken from 20,000 adults with an overwhelming concern about the burden of medical debt and strong public demand for comprehensive reforms of the 340B Drug Pricing program.

Nearly four in five surveyed adults (78%) support establishing requirements to ensure that qualifying patients directly benefit from 340B drug discounts through reduced out-of-pocket prescription drug costs. More than three in four surveyed adults (77%) believe hospitals should be required to pass 340B savings directly onto patients.

05/27/2026

A household in Fredericksburg, Virginia, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in February 2024. Their bankruptcy schedule shows $478,313 in total liabilities, of which $379,261 — eighty-one percent — is medical debt. The bulk of that debt, $376,855, is owed to a single Virginia hospital system: Mary Washington Healthcare. Their monthly income, by the schedule, was $5,160. Their monthly expenses, $5,426. Their margin, before any payment toward the bankruptcy debt: negative $266 a month.

Over the course of 2025 and 2026, Patients Rising reviewed approximately 900 individual Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings from federal bankruptcy courts in six states: Virginia, Wisconsin, Washington, Louisiana, Colorado, and Maine.

Here's what we found.

900 bankruptcy filings across six states show patients owing 340B-participating hospitals millions. None were told they were 340B patients before filing.

05/26/2026

Who's really benefitting from 340B in Illinois?

Illinois 340B hospitals now earn roughly 2.7 times more in program profits than they spend on charity care. Statewide, these hospitals provide charity care at just 1.74% of their costs — below the national average. Nearly 69% of Illinois 340B hospitals fall short on charity care benchmarks compared to hospitals not participating in the program at all.

Read more here:

Illinois 340B hospitals earn 2.7x more in profits than they spend on charity care. Patients Rising examines what the data says and what patients deserve to know.

05/24/2026

This week Governor Abigail Spanberger for vetoed HB483 and SB271, legislation that would have established a Prescription Drug Affordability Advisory Panel (PDAAP) in Virginia.

We applaud her decision for putting Virginia patients first! Thank you, Gov. Spanberger!

Read more here: https://hubs.ly/Q04hLnK90

05/20/2026

Nonprofit hospitals participating in the 340B program devote an average of just 2.3% of their expenses to charity care, despite receiving significant drug discounts through a program originally intended to support vulnerable patients.

At the same time, investigations and reporting have raised growing questions about whether some hospital systems are using 340B revenue to strengthen their own margins and expansion efforts rather than reducing costs for the patients the program was designed to help.

05/19/2026

Healthcare policy debates often sound abstract until they begin affecting the medications people rely on every single month. Seniors are increasingly being pulled into conversations about drug pricing proposals, Medicare access and what certain policy changes could mean for continuity of care, especially for those managing chronic conditions.

Our friends at The Herald Group shared with us that Medicare Today is hosting a Facebook Live event focused on the Most Favored Nation pricing policy and the concerns many advocates have raised about how it could impact seniors’ access to treatment, provider networks and timely care.

Sign up here: https://hubs.ly/Q04h7Xmn0

05/19/2026

Friendly reminder — You can join us TONIGHT for our Town Hall that will explore the complexities of how 340B works and why patients don’t benefit!

We get started at 7:30 PM EST in our Circle community. Sign up here:

$81.4B spent. $66.4B back to hospitals. $0 to patients. Join Patients Rising Tuesday, May 19, 7:30 PM EST, for a Town Hall on the 340B program — plain language, real accountability.

05/18/2026

For Bridget Dandaraw-Seritt, advocacy has never existed inside conference rooms alone. It has lived in hospital visits, community gatherings, policy meetings and the everyday reality of helping medically complex families feel less alone in a healthcare system that often leaves them navigating impossible situations by themselves.

As the founder of Advocates for Compassionate Therapy Now (ACTnow) and the Colorado Rare Disease Coalition, Bridget has spent years building support systems for patients living with chronic and rare diseases. Through educational programs, community events and policy work spanning issues from disability access to 340B and pharmacy benefit manager reform, her work has focused on making sure patients are not treated as an afterthought in the decisions shaping their care.

A Patients Rising Patient Senator, Bridget brings both lived experience and policy insight to conversations surrounding healthcare access, rare disease advocacy and the realities facing medically complex families every day.

05/17/2026

Healthcare has become increasingly shaped by programs and financial structures most patients never hear about until a prescription cost changes, a hospital bill becomes difficult to understand or access to care suddenly feels harder to navigate than expected.

The 340B program now sits at the center of a growing national conversation involving hospitals, pharmacies, patient access and transparency, yet many people affected by it still have little understanding of how it functions or where its impact is actually felt.

Join us for a virtual Town Hall exploring how 340B works, why it has drawn increasing scrutiny and what accountability could look like from a patient perspective.

Tuesday, May 19
7:30-8:30 PM EST
in our Circle community

Join us here: https://hubs.ly/Q04gTTmV0

05/17/2026

We want you to be educated and empowered in conversations regarding prescription drug affordability. Join us at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, May 27 for a conversation about advocating for solutions that will directly benefit you!

Join us here: https://hubs.ly/Q04gVy9d0