This article was originally published in 2014 but has been updated in 2024 with new and relevant information. Prostate cancer treatment can be costly, with national medical expenses reaching $22.3 billion in 2020, according to the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Trends Progress Report. Beyond the medical bills, additional costs like co-pays, medications, and travel for appointments can create a significant financial burden. For over 20 years, NeedyMeds assisted thousands of patients seeking resources for prostate cancer. Our website offers a variety of resources to help reduce treatment costs, from medication assistance programs to free screenings and travel support. This article […]
Tag: Patient Assistance Programs
Paying to Apply to PAPs
There are many companies that, for a fee, offer to help people apply to pharmaceutical patient assistance programs (PAPs). Some even show up when you do a Google search for “NeedyMeds” or words spelled close to “NeedyMeds.” While some make reasonable claims, others seem to say if you pay them a fee they can get you any medicine for free. And some of the fees can pile up pretty quickly. No PAP charges you to apply. Occasionally you’ll find one that has a copayment, but you should never pay upfront. How complicated is it to apply to a PAP? The […]
Finding Help With Major Depression
Major depression, also commonly referred to as clinical depression, is one of the most common mental illnesses in the United States. Major depression, including major depressive disorder, manic depression, and dysthymia, affect more than 19 million Americans a year. Almost two-thirds of those with depression are women. The symptoms of clinical depression vary, but common symptoms include persistent sad or anxious mood, sleeping issues, reduced appetite, irritability, fatigue, and thoughts of suicide among others. From Mental Health America, “Depression causes people to lose pleasure from daily life, can complicate other medical conditions, and can even be serious enough to lead […]
All About State Grants for Assistive Technology
Routine “everyday tasks” can be quite burdensome for many people living with a disability. For a long time there was little one could do to help in these situations, causing many people with disabilities to require personal assistance, which oftentimes would lead to depression and low self-esteem issues. Throughout the last few decades, however, much work has been done in developing and launching new technologies to help people with a variety of disabilities. Commonly referred to as “assistive technology,” these new devices are designed to help those living with a disability to easily perform common tasks. Thanks to the Assistive […]
The Affordable Care Act and the Future of Assistance Programs
We’ve been getting a lot of questions from our readers about how the resources we list on our website, especially the pharmaceutical patient assistance programs, will be affected by the Affordable Care Act. While we are still far away from having all the answers, we do have some additional information we can provide you after attending a recent PAP Conference. The overarching consensus is that PAPs will continue to exist to help those in need that fall into the gaps. Here is an overview of what we learned at the CBI PAP 2014 Conference, held in Baltimore on March 6-7. […]