Hello and Welcome. This page on "Giving Something Back" is dedicated to helping chronic pain patients and others to find resources on the Net and in the outer world, through which to obtain medical care at lower or occasionally "no" cost. 

    --  The primary author and original researcher for the page is Susie Margaret Ross, a patient advocate who regularly contributes online research and interactive personal support and assistance on the Neurological Disorders forum of WebMD. Additional links were contributed by "Shiela", a chronic neuropathic face pain patient who supports Trigeminal Neuralgia patients at a website called "Living with TN" [see http://www.livingwithtn.org/profile/Sheila]

    --  Red Lawhern, Ph.D., is owner/webmaster of "Giving Something Back".  He has contributed as editor for this piece.  

To send us email, select Free + Low Cost Medical Care . To return to the home page of "Giving Something Back", select  "Home Page"

About The List

Lacking affordable health insurance, many chronic pain patients find themselves with limited financial resources and sometimes in desperate need of low-cost alternatives to tradititional for-profit medical providers.  The following list of resources  has been developed for such people, to aid in finding free/low-cost medical care, including counseling.   To take advantage of these resources, you may need first to go through an entry level evaluation with a primary-care doctor.  Thereafter,  you can ask to be referred to community medical care providers if they are available, or if you feel that you need assistance with depression or other issues, to a counselor or psychiatrist.

Our personal advice is not to tackle all of these at once.  It's easy to get overwhelmed.  So check out one or two, see what they say, and then check out one or two more.

We welcome suggestions for additions to this list. See the email link above.

    Regards and Well Wishes  -- Susie Margaret, Shiela  and Red

Getting Started  [Note:  not all of the following resources are focused primarily on chronic pain patients]

Featured selection:  RxNGo is a low-cost mail-order US pharmacy which supplies over 1100 commonly used drugs at discount prices.  

http://www.cancercare.org/HelpingHandsGuide/HelpingHandsGuideList.cfm?c=49

http://community.catholiccharitiesusa.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=292&srcid=288

http://www.copays.org

http://www.coverageforall.org/finder/index.php 

http://www.findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov

http://www.freeclinics.us/freeclinic.php 

http://www.freemedicineprogram.com/drug/ELDER+TONIC/

http://www.freemedicalcamps.com/index.php 

http://www.helpingpatients.org/

http://www.lillyanswers.com/

http://www.mhsanctuary.com/add/rx.htm

https://www.merck.com/pap/pap/consumer/request_application.jsp

http://www.mycancernews.com/viatical.html

http://www.needymeds.org/free_clinics.taf

http://www.sch-plough.com/schering_plough/corp/patient_programs.jsp

http://www.pparx.org/en/prescription_assistance_programs/free_clinic_finder 

http://www.rxassist.org/ -- subsidy and support programs for payment of medical prescription costs

http://www.sch-plough.com/schering_plough/corp/patient_programs.jsp

http://www.themedicineprogram.com/

http://www.volunteersinhealthcare.org/home.htm

http://www.211.org

Telephone Contacts: Financial Assistance with Drug and Care Costs *

Acorda (Zanaflex): (800) 464-0097
Astra Zenica http://www.astrazeneca-us.com/content/drugAssistance/
Cephalon (Provigil): (800) 675-8415
GlaxoSmithKline (Wellbutrin): (866) 728-4368
Medtronic (Baclofen): (800) 999-6673
Novartis (Tegretol) (800) 257-3273
Pfizer (Nerontin, Zolof) (800) 707-8990 
Phizer see also http://www.pfizerhelpfulanswers.com - 1-866-776-3700
Questor (Acthar gel steroid): (888) 435-2284
Roche (Klonopin): (800) 285-4484

The Commonwealth Fund: (212) 606-3800
Johnson Ortho Patient Assistance Foundation: (800) 652-6277
The Medicine Program (800) 921-0072
NeedyMeds: (978) 865-4115 [Website above]

National Organization of Rare Disorders (NORD): (203) 744-0100
N.O.R.D. Co-Pay Assistance (800) 634-7207
N.O.R.D. Medicare Co-Pay Help: (866) 924-0100

The Access Project - (800) 367-2437
Alternative Funding Group (866) 426-2906
Bridges to Access (866) 728-4368
Chronic Disease Fund - (877) 968-7233
Eye Care America - (415) 561-8518
HealthWell Foundation - (800) 675-8416
FamilyWize - (800) 222-2818
Patient Access Network (866) 316-7261

Rx Council (866) 794-3571 Together
RX Access, LLC: (800) 444-4106
Rx Outreach (800) 769-3880
Rx Assist - (401) 729-3284 [Website Above]
RX Hope - (732) 507-7400

*Original Credit:  MS-World Forum

National Patient Advocacy Organizations

-- When you check out this website -- http://www.patientadvocate.org/report.php  -- be sure to click on both national and state organizations;

-- Also visit t the "live united" campaign of the United Way -- http://www.liveunited.org -- and use the "search our site" box at the right in the second blue ribbon to do a "search" for your city or state to find medical care programs in your area.

Knowledgeable People in Community Organizations

-- Consult your local Telephone Book Blue (government) Pages.  Call your city, county, or state dept of health and Department of Family Services (or something that sounds similar).  Ask about free or low-cost clinics in your area.

-- Go to the website for your state government, e.g., http:// www.your_state.gov [fill in your state], and click on every social service link you can find.

-- Look for free or low-cost clinics at nearby medical schools, divinity schools, large hospitals, and university graduate programs in nursing, social work, or psychology.  In counseling services, students who are close to graduation may often provide health care under the close supervision of their instructors. 

-- Phone hospitals near you to locate a social worker or a rehabilitation specialist.  Very often, such people have very extensive knowledge of their own and other hospital and community resources.

-- Call the nearest office of Legal Aid,  to see if they know of programs for free or low-cost medical care.

-- Check with churches, synagogues, and mosques to see if they have someone who does counseling; with many of these, you do not have to be a member, their only concern is that you are a person in need; and

Government Assistance Programs

Check out these websites to determine your eligibility for various Government assistance programs.

https://www.benefitscheckup.org/index.cfm?partner_id=0  [Login May Be Required]

http://www.eldercare.gov/Eldercare.NET/Public/Home.aspx

http://www.govbenefits.gov/govbenefits_en.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=gbcc_page_home&_nfls=false 

http://www.hrsa.gov/osp/dfcr/obtain/obtain.htm

Assistance with health care costs in the UK:  www.nhs.uk/nhsengland/Healthcosts/pages/Abouthealthcosts.aspx

Other Government and Non-Government Family Financial Assistance Programs

*Original Credit:  Shiela Wall on "Living With TN", a patient-centered website for facial pain discussions
See http://bluebirdyliving.blogspot.com or http://www.livingwithtn.org

Direct links to the US food stamp site -- officially the USDA Food & Nutrition Service

     Frequently asked questions --  http://www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/faqs.htm
     Applicants and recipients -- http://www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/applicant_recipients/default.htm

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is a federally assisted meal program operating in public and nonprofit private schools and residential child care institutions. It provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to children each school day.

    http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Lunch/Default.htm

Modest Needs is a non-profit, tax-exempt philanthropic organization that began as one man's personal project in March of 2002. Since that time, Modest Needs has become a community of unlikely philanthropists dedicated to helping others as best we can with what we have.

     http://www.modestneeds.org/

Find a National Depression Screening Day site near you (for members of the public wanting to take a free anonymous screening).

     http://www.mentalhealthscreening.org/

     http://www.mentalhealthscreening.org/locator/NDSDmap.htm

A national free eye care program for low-income working Americans that is  now open year round.

      See web site or call 1-800-766-4466.
      http://www.aoa.org/eweb/DynamicPage.aspx?site=AOAstage&WebCode=VISIONUSA

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is a Federal agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Programs for which CMS is responsible include Medicare, Medicaid, State Children's Health Insurance Program(SCHIP), HIPAA, and CLIA.

    http://cms.hhs.gov/default.asp?fromhcfadotgov=true

Links to help with Disabilities.  http://www.disabilitypolicycenter.org/relatedlinks.htm

Sources of Free or Low-Cost Food and Nutrition Materials   http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/pubs/bibs/gen/freelow.html

A list of directories of grantmakers by state/region/city  http://fdncenter.org/learn/topical/sl_dir.html

Volunteers in Health Care staff have prepared the following list of links useful to those serving the uninsured.

     http://www.volunteersinhealthcare.org/links.htm

Insurance for children http://www.insurekidsnow.gov

Patient assistance programs  http://helpingpatients.org/

Habitat for Humanity  http://www.habitatforhumanity.com

WIC  http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/

Food Banks in the United States  http://www.wadv.org/foodbank.htm

Administration for Children and Families and Domestic Violence

      http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/opa/facts/domsvio.htm

Energy Assistance: Home Heating and Cooling  http://www.ncat.org/liheap/referral.htm

Free or Low-cost Medical/Dental Care  http://ask.hrsa.gov/pc/

Financial Help to Pay for Home Heating and Cooling  http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/liheap/faq.htm

Head Start (Administration for Children & Families  http://www.headstartinfo.org/infocenter/infocenter.htm

Job Opportunities for Low-income People  http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ocs/dcdp/joli/welcome.htm

Medicaid - The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services  http://www.cms.hhs.gov/medicaid/mover.asp

Resources to Help Children and Families  http://www.ncfy.com/Resources.htm

State TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) Links  http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/news/welfare/stlinks.htmSingle

Touched Twice provides free clinics and more to the less fortunate.  Many of the clinics provide free food, clothing, dental and medical care, free haircuts, free legal, financial and spiritual advice. free clinics located in the US.

    http://www.touchedtwice.org/index.html


A leading resource for senior related information  http://www.friendly4seniors.com/_search.asp

Get Connected: Afford-A-Phone -- The Lifeline telephone discount program, also known as "Lifeline Assistance", gives people with low incomes a discount on the basic monthly service for either their wireline or wireless phone. The Link-Up America program pays for a portion of your wireline or wireless installation or activation fee excluding the handset.

    http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/getconnected/faqs.html#signup

Listing Of Free Clinics  http://www.medkind.com/FCF/

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This page last updated March 27, 2011