NeedyMeds, Prescription Drugs

All About Patient Assistance Programs

Evan O'Connor

NeedyMeds was started in 1997 when a family physician and a medical social worker realized there were dozens of pharmaceutical patient assistance programs available, providing medications to those in need at low- or no-cost, but no centralized resource for the information.  We became that resource, using the relatively new (at the time) Internet as the perfect medium for the constantly changing information. Despite growing significantly since our inception, we still have an expanding database of Patient Assistance Programs (PAPs) to help those unable to cover the costs of prescriptions.

Patient assistance programs are typically funded by pharmaceutical companies to help uninsured and underinsured patients get their medication for free or low-cost. There are no regulations or laws dictating that pharmaceutical companies must provide PAPs, so the eligibility requirements often vary from program to program. Most require personal information (full name, address, date of birth, social security number), information from your doctor, and a valid prescription. Some PAPs require information on insurance

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NeedyMeds

How You Can Help NeedyMeds

Richard Sagall

Every day, people ask how they can help NeedyMeds. Usually they have used the website or called the helpline to find assistance with their medical costs, or maybe they used our information to lower their parent’s drug costs.

Here are four things you can do to help us help you and earn our everlasting gratitude.

  1. Spread the Word

Even though 10,000 to 15,000 people visit our website every workday, more need to know about NeedyMeds. Even though our toll-free helpline helps 4,000-6,000 callers every month, we want to help more!

The best recommendation we can get — the thing that convinces people to check out our website — is a personal recommendation from a family member or friend who used NeedyMeds. This can help to increase our number of people we can help.

If you have used the website or helpline, please tell your friends, family, doctor, or anyone else who might benefit from the information we have. 

  1. Help Us Add More Programs

At last count, we had around 30,000 programs listed on our website. I know that sounds like a lot of programs — and it is. However, we know there are many more programs we don’t know about. But maybe you

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Awareness, Clinics, COVID-19, NeedyMeds

National Health Center Week 2021

Evan O'Connor

This week is National Health Center Week. As healthcare has become more and more expensive, the need for low-cost healthcare has increased. Many people living in more rural parts of the country have a very limited number of options to see a doctor, and depending on their insurance status the number of available “in-network” doctors is even lower. Many people do not regularly see their doctor, only seeking healthcare when a more serious condition arises. It can be a stressful situation to be uninsured and have an unforeseen medical problem come up — especially during the ongoing pandemic. This week is meant to celebrate and raise awareness of local community owned and operated clinics providing high quality, cost effective, accessible care to more than 27 million Americans.

Community health centers have been vital to public health throughout the COVID-19 pandemic as the primary source of care for many low-income populations and vulnerable communities by providing free screenings

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NeedyMeds

NeedyMeds Appreciates All Our Volunteers

Evan O'Connor

National Volunteer Month in the United States takes place in the month of April. This month is dedicated to honoring all of the volunteers in our communities as well as encouraging volunteerism throughout the month.

Our local volunteers help us print and mail lists of medications for callers seeking help with several prescriptions (our call center helps with this information over the phone, but due to the volume of calls we receive we may mail you information for long lists of medications), update information in our databases, and help mail out the NeedyMeds Drug Discount Cards. Some of our earliest volunteers were offered paid positions in the formative years of NeedyMeds, and have been everyone from high school students seeking work experience to retired people looking for light office work. Our local volunteers have unfortunately had to discontinue their work from the office during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but we’re looking forward to when we can all work together safely.

In recent years, we launched our Volunteer

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Health, NeedyMeds, Patient Assistance

NeedyMeds Resources: Camps & Scholarships

Evan O'Connor

Perhaps more than any other year, Americans are making plans for their summer and beyond. For those with chronic illness or disabilities and their families, finding appropriate and supportive environments for recreation can be a challenge. Luckily, there are camps and retreats that are available specifically for people affected by various chronic conditions.

Every camp listed on the NeedyMeds site is different — serving different people based on their medical condition. Most camps are for children and young adults with a specific diagnosis, though there are also camps available for children whose parents have a specified diagnosis or for siblings or the entire family to enjoy. Most camps are funded by private or government run organizations.

Each camp has a different set of eligibility requirements, though most require a diagnosis for the child or a member of their family. Some camps are limited to certain states, while others are available to anyone who is a legal resident of the United States. There may be financial requirements for many of the camps; recreational programs listed are not

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