Financial Advocacy & Patient Assistance Resources

The Wisconsin Association of Hematology and Oncology (WAHO) is committed to providing physicians and their patients with the tools they need to navigate the complexities of paying for cancer treatment. Below is a library of resources provided by WAHO and the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) to help the multidisciplinary cancer team integrate financial health practices and help patients gain access to high-quality care.

In January 2022, ACCC upgraded its Patient Assistance & Reimbursement Guide print publication to a searchable, digital format!

You can now find the most up-to-date information on oncology assistance and reimbursement programs by searching for a prescribed product or company name, then further streamline your search by applying coverage and assistance-type filters.

Access details on all available financial assistance and reimbursement program benefits, application information, and eligibility criteria. Listings include direct links to external websites and company phone numbers and will be updated in real-time, so you’ll always have access to the latest information and external program links.

The digital Guide links directly to the ICD-10 codes website and the Library of NCCN Compendia for current indications. These resources were identified by ACCC members as the most up-to-date and authoritative source for this information.

ACCC Digital Patient Assistance & Reimbursement Guide

Financial Advocacy Playbook

The ACCC Financial Advocacy Network brought together experts in financial advocacy to create this Playbook—a comprehensive tool to support onboarding and continuous learning for staff who deliver financial advocacy services. In it you will find the basics of financial advocacy, including common terminology and definitions, and details on benefits verification, financial distress screening, prior authorizations, insurance education and optimization, and how to secure available financial assistance options for qualifying patients..
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Financial Advocacy Toolkit

ACCC, its members, and partners have collected new and updated resources to help you develop, implement, and continue to deliver effective financial advocacy services in your cancer program or practice. These resources include guides and tools for building financial advocacy programs, communicating with patients, screening for financial distress, optimizing insurance coverage, performing prior authorizations, handling denials and appeals, and so much more.
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Financial Advocacy Bootcamp

The ACCC Financial Advocacy Boot Camp offers powerful training to boost Your financial navigation services. Two sets of dynamic online courses offer the tools your staff needs to help patients pay for treatment—while maximizing reimbursement at your program. Free registration is a benefit of IOS membership.
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Patient Assistance Brochure

Dealing with a cancer diagnosis is stressful enough without having to worry about how to pay for treatment. This patient-facing brochure provides your patients with easily digestible information for exploring financial assistance programs through drug manufacturers and nonprofit organizations.
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Financial Advocacy Services Guidelines

The ACCC Financial Advocacy Services Guidelines address the critical need for early intervention by financial advocates to mitigate the financial burden of cancer. Whether your program is already providing financial advocacy services or is just in the planning stages, these guidelines offer the structure and support needed to advance your work.
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Recognizing Leaders in Financial Navigation

Rachel Radwan
March 03, 2025

With 3 out of 4 patients with cancer experiencing significant financial hardship within the first year of treatment, financial toxicity is undeniably one of the most pressing issues in the current oncology landscape. Patients with cancer are also 2.5 times more likely to file for bankruptcy, which further worsens their treatment outcomes. Unfortunately, the incidence and severity of financial toxicity have only increased in recent years due to the high cost structure associated with cancer diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship.

Born out of this critical need, financial navigation serves as a health system-level intervention to provide patients with assistance tailored to their individual challenges in areas such as medical copayments, employment, and nonmedical costs such as transportation and lodging. In addition to connecting patients with financial assistance, financial navigation has evolved to help patients better understand the financial aspects of their care, such as navigating disability benefits and optimizing insurance. This broader scope of financial navigation not only helps more patients utilize the resources available to them, but has been demonstrated to reduce anxiety about the financial burden of cancer care.

Embodying the Spirit of Martin Luther King

This month, ACCC is pleased to celebrate a member of the Financial Advocacy Network (FAN) Advisory Committee, Brittany McArn, OPN-CG, CPPN, financial navigation manager, outpatient oncology services, FirstHealth of the Carolinas, who was recently recognized by her organization as the recipient of the 2025 FirstHealth MLK Leadership Award for her tireless dedication to reducing the financial burden of cancer care.

McArn joined FirstHealth in 2016 as a patient assistance specialist in medical oncology before transitioning to a financial navigator in 2018—the organization’s first and only at the time. The department has since grown significantly, and today McArn manages a team of 7 financial navigators. “Our goal is to take ownership of all things financial from diagnosis to survivorship,” McArn said. “That could be anything from billing questions and authorization management to transportation, Medicaid, community resources, and grant copays.”

McArn expressed her enjoyment of treating and being part of a strong community. “I have always had a personal passion for fighting for equality and trying to make sure that all people are taken care of,” she said. “I make a conscious effort to educate myself and find resources that challenge me to think broader with more people in mind. We have to get to know one another to be able to best serve each other.”

Meeting the Unique Needs of Every Patient

As a financial navigation manager, McArn works with patients from a variety of backgrounds, each with different financial needs. “Some people have enormous support systems and some people come and they have no one,” she explained. “As a navigator you are required to care for each of those people and give them quality service, and that doesn’t necessarily look the same from family to family.” She emphasized that the scope of financial navigation is wide and that navigators can do a lot for patients beyond strictly financial assistance. “We have a unique opportunity to help everybody. Whether you come from a lot of money or you have absolutely nothing, there’s something we can do to financially help every patient.”

Sometimes, for McArn, that looks like walking a patient to the cancer center bistro to cover their lunch or making sure they have a cab to pick them up because their caregiver had to get back to work. Other times, patients depend wholly on the support of their financial navigation team. “I love that every day is different and that I can find something to help every single person that walks through the door,” said McArn.

“Being recognized at that organizational level is an honor,” McArn emphasized. “I just hope and pray that I do the award justice and make sure that everyone I touch receives quality health care and is seen, heard, and valued. Then I will have done what I’m supposed to do.”

Resources From ACCC

Publications

Fighting Financial Toxicity
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Making-Case-for-Hiring-Financial-Navigator-100x130 Making the Business Case for Hiring a Financial Navigator
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From Oncology Issues

Year in Review: 2025 Policy Wrap-Up
Nicole Tapay, JD

Nicole Tapay highlights ACCC's top policy priorities in 2025, areas where action is still needed, and key issues on the horizon for the coming year, including prior authorization, the Inflation Reduction Act, and drug shortages.
Optimizing Revenue Cycle Management in Oncology
Zaheer Ahmad

The delivery of comprehensive cancer care, although paramount to patient outcomes, faces unprecedented financial pressures, including rising treatment costs, intricate payer policies, and a shift from fee-for-service to value-based care models.
How Do You DISCO?
Lauren M. Hamel, et al.

Leveraging the Discussions of Cost App to reduce financial toxicity and improve treatment cost communication.