Foo Fighters is fighting the good fight.
On March 5, the rock band will take a detour from their world tour to headline a Washington, D.C. benefit concert for Power to the Patients, a nonprofit that calls for price transparency and equitable healthcare access.
At the one-night-only event, Foo Fighters will share the spotlight with a lineup of other talented musicians, including Fat Joe, Busta Rhymes, Wyclef Jean, and more.
“When we were asked by Power to the Patients to help raise awareness of the need for transparency in healthcare pricing, we immediately said yes,” Foo Fighters announced in a statement to the press.
“People suffering from illness and injury shouldn’t have to worry about being bankrupted by surprise charges for their treatment.”
The issue of medical debt
Although federal laws have mandated clear and accessible hospital pricing since 2021, hospitals have routinely sidestepped compliance laws on a national scale.
For years, activists across the country have called for radical change in the healthcare industry. Community organized fundraisers and GoFundMe campaigns have become the norm for patients living with medical debt.
Before passing away from stage four ovarian cancer, a writer, Casey McIntyre, created a fundraiser with the nonprofit RIP Medical Debt.
“To celebrate my life, I’ve arranged to buy up others’ medical debt and then destroy the debt,” McIntyre stated in a farewell letter. “I am so lucky to have access to the best medical care at [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center] and am keenly aware that so many in our country don’t have access to good care.”
McIntyre’s goal was $20,000. Since her passing, the campaign has generated over $1 million in donations.
Healthcare activists have hope that the tide is turning against the hospital industry in favor of patients. New and expanding companies like CareBridge are taking a value-based approach to the hospital industry, focusing on Medicare and Medicaid recipients and lowering healthcare costs across the market.
Power to the Patients taps into the Dave Grohl effect
Similarly, Power to the Patients has long been dedicated to creating a more affordable healthcare system in America through PSAs and community-made murals across the country.
As hospitals cut corners and continue to hide prices to drive competition with insurers, Power to the Patients continues to protect patients from price-gouging, hidden expenses, and financial ruin.
And the organization’s upcoming concert in March is set to serve as its biggest platform yet.
“The event aims to raise awareness about the inequality and uncertainty millions of patients face due to hidden upfront prices in the healthcare system,” the organization shared on X (formerly Twitter).
With this concert benefit, Foo Fighters continues to uphold their legacy not just as rock legends, but as an undeniable force for good.
In December, Foo Fighters’ frontman Dave Grohl spent 18 hours creating a massive barbecue buffet on behalf of The Big Umbrella Foundation, a Melbourne-based charity that assists people experiencing homelessness.
This came mere months after Grohl volunteered for Hope the Mission and fed 500 LA community members also facing poverty and food insecurity. At both events, Grohl, volunteers, and attending community members were all smiles.
Grohl once famously said: “If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s gathering people together to do something fun.”
Header images courtesy of Andreas Lawen, Fotandi (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Power to the Patients