A new service launched recently that does something absolutely remarkable for people who are struggling to pay for their medications.

FreeMedicineRevolution.com not only provides you with the application forms for free medication, but the site also, for FREE, pre-qualifies you for each medication that you take. There is no obligation to use the qualification tool, and there is nothing else like it in the Internet.

This service takes attaining free medication to a whole new level by providing the most needy patients with access to the technology that clinics and hospitals use to qualify their patients. (And many institutions don’t even have access to anything this easy to use.)

Have you been wondering if you could get your prescriptions for free? Stop wondering and got get yourself pre-qualified right now. Make today the day that you decide to get out from under your mounting debt and free up your medication money for your family.

We will be following this service in the coming months and we are looking forward to writing about how many people they reach with their message of education and empowerment.

The Will-Grundy Medical Clinic has been helping needy patients for nearly 20 years. One of the great services they offer is free prescription assistance by using Patient Assistance Programs.

Their ‘indigent patient assistance program’ is run entirely by 7 volunteers - some of them retired health care workers. The volunteers review patient charts, write renewal prescriptions, and ready forms for signatures and mailing.

Clinics like Will-Grundy in Chicago are run on love and compassion. Their tireless free medication efforts brought in over $641,000 in free prescription assistance last year for their patients.

We have found that many local free clinics like Will-Grundy do a tremendous amount of manual paperwork that require countless man hours to fill out, check, and then mail and file copies. These clinics may be able to boost productivity and lower costs by using Patient Assistance Program software.

Here is how the medication delivery process is handled:

If you walk down to the nurses’ station, you’ll find Dave seated at a long table with the week’s refill list and the bagged medications. He is usually accompanied by an interpreter for Spanish-speaking patients.

After verifying that the patient and medication go together, he will do a final check ensuring that the medication in the bag compares to the medication listed. He concludes with a handshake and a “thank you.”

Well done, Will-Grundy clinic. Keep up the great work that you do. We love seeing clinics actively using the help available from Patient Assistance Programs to get free medications for indigent and uninsured patients.

Once you have gone through the entire process of researching the Patient Assistance Programs that offer your medications, filling out the forms, providing the proof of income, and mailing in any other necessary documents, it can be incredibly frustrating to the be denied your free medication.

Denial could come for many reasons:

• You may have forgotten to fill out a section of the application.
• You may have forgotten to include your proof of income.
• You may have forgotten to include your prescription.
• You may have forgotten to have your doctor sign the form.
• You may have been over the income limits.
• Plus a number of other possible factors.

If you get a dreaded denial letter, make sure that you don’t get frustrated before you take a look at your appeal options.

If you are slightly over the income limits of the PAP, it’s possible that they will accept an appeal letter for your physician that describes the level of medical necessity and the hardship that doing without the medication would cause. You need to prove to them that it would be a financial hardship to purchase the medication in order to have your appeal considered. There is NO guarantee that you will get assistance from the PAP - there is just an appeal process for you to let the PAP know why you should be eligible, and they make that determination on a case by case basis.

In a case where you have prescription coverage, but you have totally maxed out your benefits, you may still be eligible for coverage if you send in a letter stating your situation. If you can provide official documentation regarding your maxed out state with your insurance company, that will aid your cause. Again, there is no guarantee that you will get help - each PAP decides appeals on a case by case basis.

In the event that you made errors or omissions on your application, you can simply reapply with the correct information filled out.

The process for applying for free medication CAN be frustrating and complicated, but the insurance companies have policies in place for very good reasons. The decisions are made by them on a case by case basis and they truly want to help those in need, so do what you can to show them how dire your situation is.

As we have discussed before, the rules, regulations, guidelines and requirements of each Patient Assistance Program varies - and the supply amount is no different. However, it’s typical to receive a 90 day supply of medication.

If you have questions about the length of supply, feel free to call the specific drug program and ask. You are being smart to diligently plan for your future of receiving free medication. And because the refill and reapplication windows are strict, the more you plan, the better!

Now that you have applied for free prescription medication and been accepted by the drug manufacturer, you are likely anxious to get it to your home and feel the relief from that burden!

While it would be great if there were one standard answer, the reality is that just as the guidelines, policies and suggestions are entirely different across many manufacturers, so are the wait times to receive your medication. Fortunately, the drug companies understand that you are in a situation of hardship and they work diligently to get your medication to you.

Typical wait time time to receive free medication are anywhere from 2 weeks all the way up to 6+ weeks. The best thing to do is to call each manufacturer and ask them their standard policy. This way you can accurately plan any possible lapses in coverage that you may experience.

While you are in your waiting period, it’s okay to call each of the drug companies to ask them the status of your free medication and when you might expect it.  Don’t be afraid to follow up on this - just because they are providing you a great service doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t push for the best care possible.  You deserve to get your free medicine quickly and easily.

The application process to receive free medication through Patient Assistance Programs provided by pharmaceutical companies involves providing information about yourself on the provided patient application form for the medication you need. If you need more than one medication from more than one company, you will need to fill out more than one form. Make sure that you use the appropriate, most up to date forms when applying!

In general, you need to be ready to supply this information about yourself, or the patient that you are helping:

• Age
• State and Zip Code
• Annual Income
• Number if people living in their home
• Names of medications needed
• Current state of health coverage

Once you have the forms printed out, make sure to add all of the information that you can. There are going to be places where you need to sign and places where your doctor needs to sign. Just in case your doctor is not familiar with Patient Assistance Programs (he could be hesitant to take the time to do his part), have ALL spaces filled with the proper information. Your doctor or health care provider will have to attach or enter the prescription information and sign the forms. You can then send the information to the PAP yourself with your supporting documents.

Once you have sent in all the necessary information, you are ready to wait for their response. Good luck!

The free medication application process can be very complicated, but you don’t have to manage the process yourself. There are several levels of help available to patients.

Your application options may include:

1. Self-Applying for Free Medication - locating the forms yourself, filling them out, getting signatures, finding supporting documentation, and scheduling re-application dates.
2. Finding a local free or low-cost clinic or a patient advocacy group to assist you in the process. Their role in your pursuit of free medication will vary dramatically, and there may not be much they can do to help.
3. Working with a fee-for-service Patient Assistance agency that can manage the application process for you for a small fee. But beware: as warned by the Idaho Attorney General recently, there are companies that will not refund fees when assistance is denied. Make sure that you work with a reputable organization that does what it can to pre-qualify you for your medications, and that will refund their fees if you do not qualify.

The most important thing to understand is that you are NOT alone in this process. There are millions of Americans struggling to pay for their medications and most don’t realize that there are several ways to get help. If you are struggling, don’t wait another day. Get help now.

Now that we have covered what a Patient Assistance Progam is, the most important question a patient should ask is, “Just how does this work?”

In general, the process goes something like this:

• You get a prescription from your doctor, but you cannot afford to fill it.
• First, you need to see if your drug is offered through a Patient Assistance Program (PAP). Locate a Patient Assistance Program manufacturer list and check if the drug company that makes your drug is listed.
• If you find it there, make sure to read the requirements - for example, here are the terms to apply for free Prozac.
• Next, fill out the application as required, get the appropriate signatures, and provide the required supporting documents.

That’s the process, but keep in mind that there are specific application windows that need to be followed. The programs are set up very specifically by each company, and it’s mandatory that you follow their requirements and guidelines.

Make sure that you get educated and stay up to date on all aspects of this process. There is prescription assistance out there - you just need to access it properly and stay on top of the process. See Self-Applying for Free Medication for more information.