Health Insurance Tips & Assistance
National Patient Advocate Foundation
State Health Insurance Assistance Program: Directs you to local medicare help resources, providing one-on-one counseling and assistance.
“Navigating Insurance”: Handout with tips to better navigate insurance.
How to Appeal an Insurance Plan Decision
“Tips for When Your Insurance Company Won’t Pay”
Financial Support Resources
PAN Foundation: Offering financial assistance to help people with serious illnesses afford their out-of-pocket treatment costs and improve their quality of life.
Phone: 1-866-316-7263
Patient Advocate Foundation: Provides direct services to patients with chronic, life-threatening and debilitating diseases to help them access care and treatment recommended by their doctor.
Phone: 1-866-512-3861
Healthwell Foundation: Helping the underinsured afford critical medical treatments — because no one should go without essential care.
Phone: 1-800-675-8416
Keep Swimming Foundation: Provides financial aid for patients and their families so that they may afford the essential, non-medical expenses required to remain together throughout long-term inpatient hospitalizations.
Phone: 1-262-264-8881
Medication Pricing
Take advantage of drug company coupons and discount plans. Many companies offer medication discount programs for patients. There are several ways to find out if discounts are available for your medication:
The drug manufacturer’s website: Look at your prescription bottle for the name of the company that makes your medication. Then search that company name and “medication discounts” to find coupons and patient assistance programs for their medications.
Discount coupon websites: Several websites offer discount coupons for prescription medications (see below for examples). These websites typically work by partnering with pharmacies to offer lower prices on certain medications.
Your doctor’s office: Your doctor or pharmacist may also be able to help you find coupons or discounts for your medications.
NeedyMeds.org Find help with the cost of medicine
Guide to Drug Discounts This guide provides information on how different groups, including those with specific conditions, the elderly, and children, can access prescription drug discounts.
Medicine Assistance Tool: A search engine designed to help patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers learn more about the resources available through the various biopharmaceutical industry programs.
Phone: 1-888-477-2669
The Assistance Fund: Helping patients afford medications.
Phone: 1-844-282-5802
Medicare.gov: Pharmaceutical Assistance Program
Medicare.gov State Pharmaceutical Assistance Program
GoodRX and SingleCare
These free services offer discounts on prescription medications. They work by negotiating lower prices with pharmacies, and you can use them even if you have insurance!
Compare drug prices at different pharmacies using their online tools.
Generic versus name-brand medications: Generic medications typically cost 80-85% less than brand names! This can be a huge difference, especially for long-term medications. Generics have the same active ingredients as brand names and deliver the same effects. They’re FDA-approved, so you can trust their safety and effectiveness. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about whether generic versions are available for your prescriptions.
90-Day Supply: Ask if a 90-day supply of your medication(s) will lower the average cost per pill versus a 30-day supply.