Patients Rising

Wisconsin presents the most concentrated medical-bankruptcy pattern in our six-state series. Across 104 individual Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 filings from the Eastern and Western Districts of Wisconsin in January and February 2024 — just two months — the data shows the highest 340B exposure rate, the highest medical-debt rate, the densest verified-340B dollar accumulation per unit of time, and the most concentrated single-system dominance of any state we have examined.

Read our report here:

What 104 Wisconsin Bankruptcy Filings Reveal | 340B Hospital Debt Aurora Health Care appears on 48 of 104 Wisconsin bankruptcy filings. A two-month review of $1.16M in 340B hospital debt and what it reveals.

Healthcare debates are often fought at 30,000 feet. Patients live them on the ground.

From the industry's perspective, there are contracts, formularies, utilization management programs and cost controls. From the patient's perspective, there is a prescription that was approved yesterday and denied today. There is a treatment delayed. There is another form to complete while symptoms continue.

The healthcare system is full of competing priorities. Patients only have one.

PCMA is coming to the table. Patients Rising is here to listen, and we're bringing the patient perspective into the room.

Sign up here and be part of the conversation: https://hubs.ly/Q04jrqvz0

"It's a bad day, not a bad life."

It's the mantra that you can see on Kimberly Gonzalez's social media profiles as she passionately tells her story and advocates for the rare disease community.

Living with scleroderma, Raynaud’s, and antiphospholipid syndrome, Kim knows firsthand the challenges patients face navigating complex care. But what stands out even more than her diagnosis is her determination to turn adversity into action.

Patients Rising is proud to have Kim as part of the Patients Rising Patient Senate.

Learn more about our Patient Senators here: https://hubs.ly/Q04jsXrc0

For years, PBMs have operated largely out of view of the patients whose lives their decisions shape. Denials. Prior authorizations. Step therapy. Formulary changes. Lost records. For the sickest patients, the consequences have been serious — and in some cases, devastating.

On June 4, PCMA is sitting down with Patients Rising. About what PBMs actually do. About what's changing. About what accountability needs to look like from here.

Patients have questions. This is where we ask them.

Join host Terry Wilcox for a 60-minute virtual town hall with senior leaders from the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association. Half the hour is audience Q&A.

Sign up here:

PBMs at an Inflection Point: An Opportunity for a Candid Conversation For years the PBM conversation has been dominated by blame. PCMA is coming to the table. Patients Rising is here to listen — and we have a word, too. Join us June 4 at 2 PM ET. Half the hour is Q&A.

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.

Medical Bankruptcy in America: What 900 Filings Across Six States Reveal 900 bankruptcy filings across six states show patients owing 340B-participating hospitals millions. None were told they were 340B patients before filing.