We The Patients

We The Patients is an American nonprofit organization that describes itself as "America's Patient Protection Movement." It positions itself as the first nonprofit in the United States dedicated to organizing patients and families as a constituency for accountability and consumer protection within the healthcare system. The organization was founded by a mix of survivors, patients, advocates, and healthcare insiders, combining lived experience with policy expertise and data-driven insights. The group's public messaging centers on the financial and administrative burdens that accompany serious illness. According to its own materials, 98% of insured cancer patients still face medical debt, people living with chronic illness spend thousands more out of pocket each year than healthy adults, and nearly half of seriously ill patients drain their life savings within two years. We The Patients also highlights that nearly 80% of insurance appeals overturn the original denial, yet only a fraction of patients ever appeal because the process is confusing and exhausting. We The Patients says it starts where the data is clearest, beginning with oncology, and works to identify where the healthcare system causes preventable harm, measure that harm, and advance practical solutions that improve access to care. Its activities include a national poll intended to gather patient experiences and build a collective voice. The organization operates primarily in the United States and communicates through its website, wethepatients.org.

We The Patients emerged as a response to what its founders describe as a healthcare system that is hardest to navigate when patients need it most. The organization was founded by survivors, patients, advocates, and healthcare insiders who brought together lived experience, policy expertise, and data-driven insights. It describes itself as America's first nonprofit dedicated to organizing patients and families as a constituency for accountability and consumer protection. The group's early focus has been on oncology, where it says the data is clearest. Its public platform highlights systemic problems such as prior authorizations, coverage denials, billing errors, and medical debt. We The Patients points to statistics including that 98% of insured cancer patients still face medical debt, that nearly half of seriously ill patients drain their life savings within two years, and that nearly 80% of appeals overturn original denials even though few patients appeal. As of its public launch, We The Patients operates a website at wethepatients.org and invites visitors to take a national poll, framing its work as the beginning of a movement to organize the patient community. The organization's stated mission is to identify where the healthcare system causes preventable harm, measure its impact, and advance practical solutions that improve access to care.

America's first nonprofit dedicated to organizing patients and families as a constituency for accountability and consumer protection in healthcare.

1. 1We The Patients | America’s Patient Protection Movementwethepatients.org
2. 2About We The Patients | America’s Patient Protection Movementwethepatients.org
3. 3We The Patientswikidata.org