How Policy Changes Are Shaping Patient Support Programs

Pharmaceutical companies are increasingly shifting their focus from healthcare providers to patients as the primary customer in patient support programs. This change is shaping how companies design and deliver services, from financial assistance and insurance support to mental health resources and links with advocacy groups.

In this first part of a two-part interview recorded live at Access USA 2026, Corey Ford, Principal at Nuvera, discusses how patient support strategies are evolving and highlights the real-world implications of shifting insurance coverage on patient access. He also examines the growing need for holistic support programs that address both financial and non-financial barriers to therapy.

Recent policy changes are adding urgency to this shift. The expiration of enhanced ACA subsidies, along with the One Big Beautiful Bill, is already changing patient access to coverage. According to Ford, reduced enrollment in health exchanges and rising premiums are leaving many patients uninsured or facing higher out-of-pocket costs, which is expected to increase demand for patient assistance programs and support services.

A transcript of his conversation with PC can be found below.

Editor's note: This transcript is a lightly edited rendering of the original audio/video content. It may contain errors, informal language, or omissions as spoken in the original recording.

PC: From your perspective leading patient solutions globally, what's the single biggest shift you've seen in how pharma companies approach patient support — and what's driving it?

Ford: I mean, we've seen in some recent years really kind of putting, I know this is going to sound a little contradictory, but actually putting more of the focus on the patient, right? Kind of more broadly speaking, pharma has kind of gone from HCP as that primary customer focus to making patient more the customer, right, and driving that patient engagement. so really trying to make sure that they're providing more holistic support from that patient perspective, getting beyond just insurance, coverage, appeals, financial support, to also providing things such as, you know, mental health support, providing information related to side effects, linking them with advocacy groups. So I think putting more of that emphasis on the patient as a customer.

The One Big Beautiful Bill and ACA enhanced subsidy changes have sent shockwaves through patient access — from your position, what's the real-world impact you're seeing on patients' ability to afford and stay on therapy?

Certainly with the one big beautiful bill and the lapsing of the enhanced ACA subsidies, we are seeing a pretty seismic shift in terms of access to health insurance. and, you know, with the one big beautiful bill, we could expect a number of Medicaid beneficiaries to potentially lose their coverage really starting in 2027. We're going to start to see a lot of activity in terms of how states are reacting this year, but we're already seeing an impact in 2026, particularly with the lapsing of those enhanced ACA subsidies. And one of the things I talked about in my talk was how we've already seen a reduction in enrollment in the exchanges by 1.4 million, and most of those folks are probably uninsured now, right? Because with the higher premiums, insurance was so much more unaffordable for them. And so certainly I think we're going to see an increase in the uninsured rate that's going to correspondingly have an impact on the need for free goods and PAP support. But I also think there's a, a sub- a play on co-pay as well, because we could see, those who get dis-enrolled from Medicaid going to the exchanges, where they're essentially going from paying essentially nothing to then the highest out-of-pocket burden in the commercial benefit.