Patient Advocate Foundation
Bo Zhao, MD, PhD, Medical Oncology and Hematology, Virginia Oncology Associates
Fighting cancer and other serious illnesses is difficult enough without factoring in stressors such as financial insecurity, insurance denials and a lack of social support.
Enter the Patient Advocate Foundation (PAF), a Hampton-based nonprofit that works with patients nationwide to eliminate barriers to accessing quality healthcare. The organization has served millions of patients since its 1996 founding, many of whom initially reach out feeling fearful and overwhelmed.
In 2023 alone, PAF helped more than 185,000 people with 958 distinct diagnoses, some with health insurance and some without.
“The foundation is an important bridge in connecting people with resources they need,” says Dr. Bo Zhao, a medical oncologist and hematologist with Virginia Oncology Associates (VOA). “Many people’s lives have been changed in a very positive way.”
Dr. Zhao has supported PAF financially since he started with VOA in 2021, when he attended the organization’s annual “A Promise of Hope” fundraising gala and learned more about its mission. “As physicians, we don’t want to only support patients in our offices, but out in the community as well,” he notes.
PAF case managers provide free one-on-one guidance to patients battling a chronic, life-threatening or debilitating disease, helping eligible individuals access needed treatments, overcome coverage denials and pay for medical and cost-of-living expenses.
Goals might include locating financial support to reduce debt; enrolling in Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security Disability or Marketplace plans; negotiating manageable payment plans with medical providers; filling out paperwork to appeal insurance denials; accessing workplace benefits; and identifying potential clinical trials for treatment.
PAF programs also include Co-Pay Relief, or assistance with out-of-pocket costs for prescription medications and health insurance premiums, and the Financial Aid Funds, which offer small grants for non-medical bills. Additionally, PAF awards academic scholarships to young adults who have faced a serious illness.
Although case managers can’t provide medical advice or handle health issues related to accidents, workers’ compensation claims, malpractice, non-chronic conditions or mental health diagnoses, PAF has compiled a comprehensive online directory of national and local resources for such patients.
Meanwhile, a separate nonprofit, the National Patient Advocate Foundation (NPAF), champions healthcare reforms at the federal, state and local levels to promote access and affordability. Based in Washington, D.C., NPAF draws on the experiences of PAF patients to shape its agenda.
PAF and NPAF were founded by Nancy Davenport-Ennis, a Hampton resident who became involved in legislative healthcare reform while watching her close friend, Cheryl Grimmel, struggle with her insurance company’s decisions as a breast cancer patient.
On the night of Grimmel’s funeral in late 1994, Davenport-Ennis and her husband, Jack Ennis, wrote business plans for what would become the two nonprofits. Both have grown steadily ever since.
PAF, funded by individual and corporate donations, now has more than 200 staff members and reached 93 percent of all U.S. counties with assistance in 2023. Its website offers information in English and Spanish; phone-based support is provided in dozens of languages.
Dr. Zhao, whose specialty areas include gastrointestinal and gastroesophageal cancer and melanoma, has witnessed firsthand how serious illness can impact patients and their loved ones physically, emotionally and financially.
“Cancer is a family disease,” he says. “It goes far beyond one person being sick. The more we can do to support everyone on the journey, the better.”
To learn more about PAF, call (800) 532-5274 or visit patientadvocate.org.
