Get Involved
for yourself – for others
Help us advocate for the rights of patients with chronic and life-threatening illnesses. Work with us at community, state and federal levels in support of reforms and legislation aimed at advancing patient access to and affordability of healthcare.
There are many ways for you to get involved. Choose what you are comfortable with, and go from there.
Latest Updates
Build Back Better Offers No Guarantee to Lower Patient Costs | Statement from Terry Wilcox
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Dec. 6, 2021 Contact: Sarah Shelson sshelson@riesterpublicaffairs.com WILCOX STATEMENT ON BIDEN DRUG SPEECH Build Back Better Offers No Guarantee to Lower Patient Costs WASHINGTON — Patients Rising Executive Director Terry Wilcox today released...
S2 | E48: Build Back Better + Chronic Illness
On this episode of the podcast, Terry and Bob discuss Congress' consideration of the Build Back Better bill and the provisions that impact patients with rare and chronic diseases. They break down the legislative process ahead and highlight how the Senate...
Letter Supported: Step Therapy for Part B Drugs in Medicare Advantage
The undersigned organizations, representing millions of Medicare beneficiaries with life-threatening, complex, chronic conditions and/or the physicians who care for them, are asking the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to ensure that beneficiaries...
Take Action
Lend your voice to support the Help Ensure Lower Patient (HELP) Copays Act
Millions of vulnerable Americans across the country rely on cost-sharing assistance to afford the medicines they need. Patients in the private health insurance market have increasingly relied on this assistance due to rising out-of-pocket costs for drugs....
Ensure Patient Perspectives Are Included in FDA Benefit-Risk Assessments
Lend your voice to support the Better Empowerment Now to Enhance Framework and Improve Treatments (BENEFIT) Act. Congress and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have made considerable progress in driving forward policies and procedures to ensure the patient...
Support the Safe Step Act
Lend your voice to support the The Safe Step Act of 2021 - S. 464/H.R. 2163 The Safe Step Act of 2021 The Safe Step Act amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) to require a group health plan to provide an exception process for any medication step...
Position Statements
Patients Rising Now is committed to engaging in policy discussions that impact the access and affordability of care for patients. We carefully review many issues, weigh opinions from experts, talk with patients, then create these position statements.
We hope these statements can help you understand our mission better and contribute meaningfully to your own position on these issues.
From Our Patient Advocates
“Medicare refuses to cover my tube feeds. Since my doctor is unable to show proof that I will need my feeding tube forever, they don’t deem it as necessary. Reality is, without my feeding tube I wouldn’t be here today. I need it to survive. The rules and regulations are a one-size-fits-all model for humans who are complex and unique.”
“It is essential to find a doctor or team who not only listens to and believes you but also respects you, it’s all too easy to get overlooked, ending up with your insurance company dictating your care. I owe my parents everything for taking me to a psychiatrist when I was six or seven and unable to function due to my intrusive thoughts and obsessive tendencies. I can’t imagine how much more painful my childhood might have been otherwise. Access to the right kind of medical care can be not only the difference between life and death, it can also be the difference between misery and a life worth living.”
“Insurance should protect me from catastrophic costs as that’s the purpose of insurance. My costs should be a reflection of my care, not the cost of a company doing business. I will not be charged unreasonable or unexpected out-of-pocket costs for services after I have paid my premiums. Why should patients like me pay coinsurance based off the list price and not the negotiated rebate price? My insurance company should work to minimize my out of pocket costs and concentrate on providing care to me and my family.”