Category: Disease Resources

All About Resources for Hearing Loss and Deafness

In today’s blog post we highlight a number of national and state programs that assist those who are deaf or suffering from hearing loss. Hearing loss affects many Americans, with approximately 3 out of every 1,000 children born deaf, along with 17% of the nation reporting some degree of hearing loss. Symptoms of hearing loss include muffled speech and sounds, difficulty understanding words in a group of people, need to turn up the volume of the radio or TV, and social issues such as withdrawal or avoidance of social gatherings. What Causes Hearing Loss? There are two major types of […]

Finding Help with Allergies and Asthma

With spring beginning to bloom we here at NeedyMeds would like to highlight some of the many resources out there for asthma and allergy sufferers. What is the Difference between Allergies and Asthma? While some of the symptoms are the same, allergies and asthma are two entirely different diseases, but there can be overlap. The primary difference is that allergies are a disease of the immune system whereas asthma is a disease of the lungs. Over 20 million Americans are affected by asthma. There are two types of asthma, allergic and non-allergic, with similar symptoms caused by airway obstruction and […]

All About the National Breast Cancer and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program

About 1 in 8 U.S. Women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime, with an estimated 232,340 new cases this year according to breastcancer.org. Cervical Cancer was responsible for 4,030 deaths in the United States in 2013. The National Breast Cancer and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP) is a national program available in every state that provides free or low-cost breast and cervical cancer screenings via the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). There are some restrictions, based on age and income. The program originated when Congress passed the Breast and Cervical Cancer Mortality Prevention act of 1990, […]

5 Ways to Find Help with Your Diabetes Costs

Treatment and other diabetes-related costs can be expensive.   According to the American Diabetes Association the total costs of diagnosed diabetes was  $245 billion in 2012, with $176 billion in direct medical costs.  “People with diagnosed diabetes incur average medical expenditures of about $13,700 per year, of which about $7,900 is attributed to diabetes. People with diagnosed diabetes, on average, have medical expenditures approximately 2.3 times higher than what expenditures would be in the absence of diabetes.” Here are 5 ways available to find help with these costs on the NeedyMeds website. 1.     Apply for free or reduced prescription medications through […]

Tips to Prevent Diabetes

According to a study by the American Diabetes Association, 25.8 million Americans had diabetes in 2011. That’s roughly 8.3% of the population. There are two major types of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in children and young adults. It occurs when the pancreas looses it’s ability to produce insulin. Insulin is necessary for the body to use glucose. Type 2 diabetes is more common. It occurs when the body is not able to use the insulin it makes. Type 2 is also known as insulin resistance or adult-onset diabetes. There is no known way to prevent type 1 […]

About Us

Welcome to the NeedyMeds Voice! We look forward to presenting you with timely, provocative pieces on healthcare reform, patient advocacy, medication and healthcare access, and other health-related news. Our goals are to educate, enlighten, and elucidate; together, we will try to make sense of the myriad and ongoing healthcare-related changes in the U.S. today.