At Raphael Health Center, affordability is not an afterthought. It is a core part of how care is delivered every day. This 2025 Impact Report highlights how Raphael’s patient assistance programs, charitable giving, and integrated in-house pharmacy are working together to ensure that cost is never a barrier to care for the patients and families they serve.
Patient Assistance That Works in the Real World
Raphael Health Center serves a community with significant financial, social, and medical barriers to care. For many patients, the question is not whether treatment exists, but whether it is accessible, affordable, and practical in their daily lives.
The Impact Report details how Raphael addresses this challenge through a coordinated model that includes its Sliding Fee Discount Program, charitable medication partnerships, and church-supported patient assistance funds. Together, these programs ensure patients receive care based on their circumstances, not their ability to pay upfront.
In 2024, Raphael took a major step forward by launching an in-house pharmacy in Indianapolis’s Near North Side, an area designated as a pharmacy desert. Since opening, the pharmacy has become a critical extension of Raphael’s safety net, allowing patients to leave appointments with their medications in hand, often the same day and at a cost they can afford.
Why Owning the Pharmacy Matters
As the report makes clear, meaningful patient assistance at scale requires more than good intentions. It requires operational control. By owning and operating its in-house pharmacy, Raphael can fully implement income-based pricing, coordinate donated medication inventory, and integrate pharmacy services directly into clinical care. These capabilities are not possible through traditional contract pharmacy arrangements and are essential to ensuring assistance reaches the patients who need it most.
The Impact Report now shows what that decision has made possible.
The Results: Assistance at Meaningful Scale
Since opening the in-house pharmacy, 26% of all prescriptions dispensed have been supported by clinic-sponsored patient assistance programs or charitable resources. That means more than one in four prescriptions filled at Raphael would likely not have been affordable for patients without these supports in place.
In practical terms, this reflects thousands of moments when patients were able to start treatment, stay on medications, and manage chronic conditions because cost was not allowed to stand in the way.
Importantly, as pharmacy volume has grown, Raphael’s commitment to assistance has remained consistent. The proportion of prescriptions supported through assistance programs has held steady over time, demonstrating that growth has not diluted the mission.
Looking Ahead
Patient assistance and charitable giving are not temporary solutions at Raphael Health Center. They are foundational to how care is delivered, now and into the future. As the healthcare landscape continues to evolve, Raphael remains committed to serving as a reliable safety net through responsible stewardship, strong community partnerships, and continued investment in programs that place patients first.
We invite you to explore the full Impact Report to see how these efforts come together and what is possible when care delivery, affordability, and community support are aligned around a shared mission.\
Charitable giving and patient assistance are not supplemental to our care model. They are essential. When cost is removed as a barrier, patients can start treatment, stay engaged in care, and actually improve their health.
Sherry Gray
Chief Executive Officer
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