Consumer Health Advocacy & Information Network

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Consumer Health Advocacy & Information Network Our mission is unbreak the American healthcare system.

The Colorado Health Advocacy and Information Network (CHAIN) is a start-up non-profit organization focused on advancing bio-science innovation and market-based ideas for improving access and affordability of health care.

10/24/2026

Nobody chooses to get cancer. Nobody plans to need an ambulance or emergency surgery.

Yet millions of Americans find themselves drowning in medical debt simply because they needed care.

As CHAIN Executive Director Leslie Herod explains, getting sick is not a choice, and receiving lifesaving care should not become a financial punishment.

It's time for a healthcare system that puts patients before profits, protects families from crushing medical debt, and makes care truly affordable.

Getting sick shouldn't mean going broke.

Learn more: UnbreakHealthcare.org

10/16/2026

Imagine being asked to pay thousands of dollars for medical care before you even know what the final bill will be.

That’s exactly what patients are facing as hospitals increasingly demand upfront payments based on estimates that may not reflect the actual cost of care.

As a recent Wall Street Journal opinion piece highlights, patients can face canceled appointments, delayed treatment, and medical debt before they even receive care.

At CHAIN, we believe patients deserve transparent pricing, affordable care, and protection from unnecessary medical debt β€” not more financial barriers between them and the care they need. It’s time to put patients before hospital profits.

https://www.wsj.com/opinion/when-hospitals-demand-upfront-payments-31dec72a

10/13/2026

Healthcare prices keep going up β€” but patients are not always seeing better care, better outcomes, or real relief.

At CHAIN, we believe it is time to stop asking families to pay more for a system that still is not working for them.

Lower costs. Better outcomes. More accountability.

Join the fight: UnbreakHealthcare.org

Since 2019, Colorado lawmakers have passed 182 new healthcare bills. The goal? Fix the system. The reality? Healthcare p...
10/07/2026

Since 2019, Colorado lawmakers have passed 182 new healthcare bills.

The goal? Fix the system.
The reality? Healthcare prices are STILL rising, and these bills are costing the state $858M a year in administrative overhead. οΏ½

More policy β‰  cheaper healthcare. πŸ“Š οΏ½οΏ½

10/02/2026

Passing more bills is NOT the same as making progress.

In Colorado, lawmakers have passed hundreds of healthcare bills + spent hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars in recent years. New boards, commissions, programs, and bureaucracies have been created β€” all in the name of lowering costs.

But for patients and families, health care still has not gotten cheaper.

Premiums are still rising. Out-of-pocket costs are still crushing families. And too many people still delay care because they cannot afford the bill that comes after.

At CHAIN, we believe it is time to stop measuring success by how many policies get passed β€” and start measuring success by whether patients are actually better off.

Lower costs. Less medical debt. More transparency. Real accountability.

That is what progress should look like.

09/30/2026

Most people have never heard of the 340B program β€” but they should.

As CHAIN Executive Director Leslie Herod explains, 340B was created to help vulnerable patients afford their medications. But today, too many hospitals can buy drugs at steep discounts without being required to pass those savings directly to patients.

The program has grown from about $6 billion in drug purchases to more than $80 billion.

It’s time to modernize 340B so the savings follow the patient.

Because if a program is supposed to help patients, patients should actually benefit.

08/20/2026

Massachusetts healthcare spending reached $83.3 billion in 2024, growing far faster than the state's cost-control benchmark.

At the same time, compensation increased for many of the state's highest-paid hospital executives:
β€’ Mass General Brigham CEO: $9.2 million β€” up ~9%
β€’ Tufts Medicine CEO: $2.7 million β€” up ~28%
β€’ Boston Children's CEO: $3.5 million β€” up 9%
β€’ Boston Medical Center Health System CEO: $2.2 million β€” up nearly 13%
β€’ UMass Memorial Health CEO: $4.1 million β€” up nearly 6%

These are some of Massachusetts' largest nonprofit healthcare institutions.

Healthcare systems are complex organizations, and their leaders have significant responsibilities. But as healthcare costs continue to rise, patients deserve transparency about where healthcare dollars are going β€” and whether enough is making its way back to the patients and communities these institutions exist to serve.

At CHAIN, we believe nonprofit status should come with meaningful accountability and a clear commitment to patients.

Healthcare dollars should put patients first.

Read more: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/08/17/business/hospital-ceo-pay-massachusetts/

08/15/2026

πŸ’‘ Healthcare Question of the Week πŸ’‘

If a nonprofit hospital purchases prescription drugs at steep discounts... should patients automatically receive those savings?

πŸ‘ Yes
🎈 It depends
πŸ€” I didn't know that's how 340B works

At CHAIN, we believe healthcare policies should be measured by one simple question: Are patients actually benefiting?

You get sick. You seek care. Then your healthcare provider sues you.A new Connecticut Mirror investigation found that ph...
08/12/2026

You get sick. You seek care. Then your healthcare provider sues you.

A new Connecticut Mirror investigation found that physicians, dentists and other non-hospital providers accounted for more than 80% of healthcare debt collection cases filed against Connecticut patients and families in 2024.

Connecticut has made important progress protecting consumers from medical debt, but this investigation exposes a major gap: many of those protections focus on hospitals while other healthcare providers operate under different rules.

At CHAIN, we believe the principle should be simple: getting sick shouldn't put your financial future at risk.

Patients deserve transparency, fair billing practices and meaningful protections from medical debt β€” no matter who provides their care.

https://ctmirror.org/2026/04/19/ct-medical-debt-case-lawsuits/

Here's a question worth asking: If the 340B program was created to help vulnerable patients... why are so many patients ...
08/06/2026

Here's a question worth asking: If the 340B program was created to help vulnerable patients... why are so many patients still ending up in bankruptcy over medical debt?

A new report from Patients Rising found that nearly half of the consumer bankruptcy cases reviewed involved debt owed to nonprofit hospitals participating in the 340B program.

Programs designed to help patients should produce better outcomes for patients.

That's why CHAIN continues to advocate for greater transparency and accountability so healthcare savings actually reach the people they were intended to serve.

https://www.patientsrising.org/advocacy-updates/340b-hospitals-as-creditors-in-medical-bankruptcies

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