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Helping close the medical debt gap.

Aflac is committed to helping close the health and wealth gap for the underserved and overlooked. For more than 65 years, Aflac has been helping policyholders with expenses health insurance doesn’t cover, allowing people to focus more on recovery, not their finances. In 2022, Aflac took this a step further through several initiatives aimed at educating, supporting and advocating for those currently suffering from or highly exposed to medical debt.

Accepting Community CareGrant at TSU

March Madness®

As part of its new campaign, Aflac has launched “Dawn’s List,” a list that aims to address some of the equity issues in women’s college basketball. Dawn’s List was created by Aflac in collaboration with Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and Coach Dawn Staley to address three categories: Investment Equity, Fan Experience and Community Engagement. The list is intended to bring more awareness and continued improvements in recognition of players and coaches in the women’s tournament and stems from Aflac’s commitment to help increase funding and drive impact for women players.

Coach Dawn Staley

Learn how Aflac can help close your coverage gap.

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See How Aflac is Helping Close Gaps
in Your Community

Consumer CareGrant Winner Icon Community CareGrant Recipient
Consumer CareGrant Winner Icon Consumer CareGrant Recipient

Based on a nationwide study, Aflac developed the Aflac Care Index, which looked to identify U.S. states that over-indexed, or ranked highly, for vulnerability to medical debt. The Care Index revealed 46% of Americans don’t have enough in savings to pay for medical expenses not covered by their health insurance.

The Index's finding fueled the creation of the Community CareGrants and Individual CareGrants Programs, which offers funding that can help close the medical debt gap for vulnerable communities and individuals.†

Click on the map’s ducks to see some of our Community CareGrant stories.

†Review CareGrant Individual Contest Rules.

Impact of Aflac CareGrants Celebration

Impact of Aflac CareGrants

In 2022, Aflac gave away $1 million in Community CareGrants and individual CareGrants, to help close the medical debt gap for individuals† and community organizations with high exposure to medical debt. CareGrants are funds from Aflac for individuals, families and communities help close the health and wealth gap. These funds aim to shine a light on the urgent issue of medical debt.

Communities: To support the highly vulnerable regions identified in the Care Index, Aflac distributed medical debt relief grants to select organizations that help improve medical outcomes for individuals in these regions. In each community where Aflac gave a grant, it installed an Aflac Park Bench to serve as a physical manifestation of the company’s commitments to education, support, and advocacy to help close the gap.

Individuals: Throughout the year, Aflac offers $5K- $10K grants to hardworking Americans who do not have Aflac supplemental insurance and have recently been burdened by medical expenses.

†Review CareGrant Individual Contest Rules.

Meet a few of our 2022 Consumer CareGrant Recipients

Lexington, VA Winners

Lexington, VA

Rockbridge Area Health Center was awarded a $100,000 Aflac Community CareGrant to reduce the risk of medical debt exposure and help fund school-based wellness education and multidisciplinary programs in Lexington, Virginia. An Aflac Park Bench was installed in Kids Playce Park, a symbol of the Lexington-Rockbridge community, which features picnic tables and water fountains.

Lexington, VA Winners

Harlan, KY

Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH) received a $100,000 Aflac Community CareGrant to help reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease in Harlan County, Kentucky. The grant was used to help ARH expand its educational outreach program, as well as purchase cardiovascular screening supplies and equipment, mannequins for use in community CPR education, and Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) for the community’s emergency management personnel. An Aflac Park Bench was installed in Dressen Park, a central public space used by many Harlan residents for rest and relaxation.

Lexigton, VA Winners

Columbia, SC

Aflac awarded a $100,000 CareGrant to Good Samaritan Clinic in Columbia, South Carolina, to help the organization develop a healthcare e-portal to reduce patients’ barriers to care, expand its point of care capacity, enable new hires and fund resources to help existing staff build and maintain patient relationships. An Aflac Park Bench was installed in Riverfront Park at the entrance to the beloved Columbia Canal and its many outdoor walking paths.

Lexington, VA Winners

Orlando, FL

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Libby’s Legacy Breast Cancer Foundation received a $100,000 Aflac Community CareGrant to increase access to breast health services, such as diagnostic testing (mammograms) and biopsies for underserved and underinsured individuals in Orlando, Florida. An Aflac Park Bench was installed on the grounds of the organization, where patients and survivors can go to relax and reflect.

Lexington, VA Winners

Houston, TX

Aflac awarded its first $200,000 Community CareGrant to Texas Southern University’s (TSU) Center for Biomedical and Minority Health Research to help advance health equity for diseases that disproportionately impact underrepresented communities. The grant was split between community support, education and health-related research. An Aflac Park Bench was installed in the heart of TSU’s campus, where TSU students, faculty, staff and supporters can find peace and comfort for years to come.

Lashandra Covington

When you think of turning 21, do you ever think about self-breast exams or breast cancer? Lashandra Covington didn’t. But in 2002, at the age of 21, she was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer. Lashandra had just given birth to her second child and breast cancer was the last thing on her mind. A year later, Lashandra was told she was cancer free. Unfortunately, seven years later her cancer came back, and more procedures ensued. Then, in April 2021, Lashandra was diagnosed with colon cancer. Throughout this journey, Lashandra didn’t have insurance, so most things were out-of- pocket, or she avoided the doctor all together. Then, Lashandra saw an ad for Aflac’s CareGrant – the $5,000 not only helped with her latest procedure but helped Lashandra get back on track and take a relaxing breathe for a moment.

John Shadock

John and Allison Shadock were married only a short time before he was diagnosed with glioblastoma at only 35 years old. The diagnosis changed the young couple’s life instantly. Allison and John and their two dogs had to relocate to be closer to John’s doctor which involved leaving jobs, undergoing astronomically expensive cancer treatments, MRIs and never-ending travel expenses. If this wasn’t enough, John had a fall a year ago that forced the Shadock family to seek round-the-clock care. They also have had to lean even more on family and friends for support. Their motto is "strong all along" and the $5,000 CareGrant they received from Aflac was extremely useful in helping keep the family on their feet so that the Shadocks could continually focus on John’s care, not their finances.

R. Mateo Magdaleno

One slip of paper can change the course of your life. That’s exactly what happened to Mateo Magdaleno. Mateo found himself in a place he never imagined – battling type II diabetes and drowning in medical debt. The diabetes began a ripple effect of other health problems including cognitive issues and higher cholesterol and the debt began to pile on. As Mateo says, “I thought having health insurance by itself would be enough, but the treatments that I needed were not covered and I was exceeding all my days off. It came to the point where I was choosing between groceries and paying for the medication that I needed to live.” Then, a friend forwarded Mateo an ad for an Aflac CareGrant and despite looking too good to be true, Mateo applied and later received funds he needed to help him focus on his recovery for the time being.

Jamie Tabor

I've always heard that cancer changes you, but I've never heard how it changes everything for your loved ones too. In 2014, my mother was diagnosed with stage 3a metastatic breast cancer. My dad was an independent contractor, earning six figures a year. He exhausted almost every cent to help her fight the disease.

Six months after she was given her last treatment, my dad felt ill with a stomach ache. We were convinced he had an ulcer. Twelve hours later, he emerged from the ER with a stage 4 pancreatic cancer diagnosis. My mother, who was still healing from a mastectomy, spent what little they had left to keep my dad comfortable.

Their six-figure income household was reduced to just $17.00 a month in food assistance and a mountain of credit card debt incurred by medical needs.

My dad passed away less than six months later. My mother spent every waking day for almost 5 years not only grieving his loss, but dealing with constant reminders of their medical debt.

In October 2021, my mother passed away. I was left to deal with their debts while grieving the loss of two parents. Debt from the medical bills has a lien on the one thing I have left of my parents. Their home. As a single mom, this $5,000 has helped me avoid going further into debt as I try to salvage what l have left of them.