The Patient Helpline Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
475016851
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Reston, VA, USA
Phone
2027501186
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Health Support Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$394,651
Expenses
$612,301
Assets
$210,799
Liabilities
$1,291,853

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • TERESSA WILCOX (CHF EXC/MISS): $230,100 total reported compensation
  • JOSEPH D KEENAN (CHIEF DIGITA): $207,956 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The patient helpline is dedicated to empowering patients and caregivers by providing clear guidance, compassionate support, and essential resources to navigate the complexities of healthcare. Our mission is to reduce barriers to care, offering personalized assistance on issues like insurance coverage, treatment access, medical transportation, and caregiver support. We believe every patient deserves to be informed, supported, and equipped to make confident healthcare decisions. Through dedicated advocacy and resource navigation, we strive to improve health outcomes and ensure that all patients have access to the care they need.

What it reported doing in 2024

The patient learning center is dedicated to empowering patients with the knowledge and skills needed to navigate their healthcare journeys with confidence. Through an array of educational resources and training programs, the learning center enables patients and caregivers to become effective advocates for their own health. Key components include the self-advocacy masterclass, a comprehensive course that trains patients in essential healthcare navigation skills, from understanding their insurance policy to effectively communicating with their doctors. This interactive program has helped hundreds of patients develop the tools they need to actively engage in their healthcare. Additionally, our navigation resources provide practical guidance on managing insurance, treatment options, and care coordination, offering patients a clear path to understanding and accessing their care. The learning center also offers patient accelerators, specialized modules that equip patients to communicate more effectively with their doctors and make informed decisions about their treatment options. By enhancing patient-provider communication, the accelerators empower patients to play an active role in their healthcare, fostering more personalized and effective care experiences. Together, these programs build a comprehensive support system that elevates patient voices and strengthens their ability to navigate the healthcare system.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 92% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: 8
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 91%; rating input score 91
  • Program expense ratio: 63.1%; rating input score 63
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.9 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -55.1%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.34; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 6.13; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 39.7%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.4% per year; rating input score 0; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.7% per year; rating input score 0; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 91% of revenue deployed · 63.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 7 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $386K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $230K · 8 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2016 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 26/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 5/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 18/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 1/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.