Health care can be costly. If you have health insurance, it usually pays at least part of your medical costs. If you don't have insurance or need help with costs that aren't covered, financial assistance might be available. Certain government programs and nonprofit organizations can help. You can also discuss concerns about paying your medical bills with your health care provider, social worker or the business office of your clinic or hospital.
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Financial Assistance Information
(National Human Genome Research Institute) - http://www.genome.gov/11008842
- Financial Planning: An Introduction(Arthritis Foundation) - http://ww2.arthritis.org/resources/Financial_Planning/Introduction/financial_intro.asp
- Free Drug Samples May End Up Costing More(09/05/2008, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_68976.html
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Paying for CAM Treatment(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/financial/
Also available in Spanish http://nccam.nih.gov/espanol/pago/
- AIDS Patient Assistance Programs(AIDS Treatment Data Network) - http://www.atdn.org/access/pa.html
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Financial Aid for Eye Care(National Eye Institute) - http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/financialaid.asp
Also available in Spanish http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/espanol/financialaid_sp.asp
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Financial Assistance and Other Resources for People with Cancer(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/support/financial-assistance
Also available in Spanish http://www.cancer.gov/espanol/recursos/hojas-informativas/ayuda-gastos
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Financial Assistance for Prostheses and Other Assistive Devices(Amputee Coalition of America) - http://www.amputee-coalition.org/fact_sheets/assist_orgs.html
Also available in Spanish http://www.amputee-coalition.org/spanish/fact_sheets/assist_orgs.html
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Financial Help for Diabetes Care(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/financialhelp/
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Financial Help for Treatment of Kidney Failure(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/financialhelp/
- Financial Information: Paying for Long Term Care(National Center for Assisted Living, American Health Care Association) - http://www.longtermcareliving.com/financial_information/howtopay1.htm
- Financial Issues for Pain Treatment(American Pain Foundation) - http://www.painfoundation.org/page.asp?menu=1&item=3&file=documents/doc_017.htm
- Financing a Transplant(United Network for Organ Sharing) - http://www.transplantliving.org/beforethetransplant/finance/finance.aspx
- How to Pay for Mental Health Services(Center for Mental Health Services) - http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/ken98-0050/default.asp
- NORD’s Medication Assistance Programs(National Organization for Rare Disorders) - http://www.rarediseases.org/programs/medication
- Partnership for Prescription Assistance(Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America) - Search engine of prescription medicine assistance programs - https://www.pparx.org/Intro.php
- Patient Financial Aid(Leukemia & Lymphoma Society) - http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/all_page?item_id=4603
- Patient Prescription Drug Assistance Programs(NAMI) - http://www.nami.org/Content/ContentGroups/Helpline1/Prescription_Drug_Patient_Assistance_Programs.htm
- RxHope: Patient Assistance Information(Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America) - https://www.rxhope.com/Patient/ProgramList.aspx
- Understanding Prescription Assistance Programs (PAPs)(National Council on Patient Information and Education) - http://www.talkaboutrx.org/paps.jsp
- Disaster Recovery: A Guide to Financial Issues(American Red Cross) - http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/beprepared/FinRecovery/
- Health Savings Accounts: Is an HSA Right for You?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/health-savings-accounts/GA00053/METHOD=print
- Hill-Burton Free and Reduced Cost Health Care(Health Resources and Services Administration) - http://www.hrsa.gov/hillburton/
- How to Find a Financial Professional Sensitive to Cancer Issues(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ESN/content/ESN_2_2X_How_to_Find_A_Financial_Professional_Sensitive_to_Cancer_Issues.asp?sitearea=&level=
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No Need to Pay for Information on Free (or Low-Cost) Rx Drugs(Federal Trade Commission) - http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/rxdrugsalrt.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/spanish/alerts/s-rxdrugsalrt.htm
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States That Require Health Plans to Cover Patient Care Costs in Clinical Trials(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/developments/laws-about-clinical-trial-costs
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: What's up with SCHIP? - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18717034&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Diabetes mellitus medication assistance program: relationship of effectiveness to adherence. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18677064&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: National health insurance coverage. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18630034&tool=MedlinePlus
- Financial Assistance -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=medical+assistance[mh:noexp]+AND+english[la]+NOT+(editorial[pt]+OR+letter[pt]+OR+case+reports[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- BenefitsCheckUp(National Council on Aging) - https://ssl1.benefitscheckup.org/
- Directory of Hospitality Houses(National Association of Hospital Hospitality Houses) - http://www.nahhh.org/lodging.php
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Benefits for Children with Disabilities(Social Security Administration) - http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10026.html
Also available in Spanish http://www.ssa.gov/espanol/10926.html
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Financial Management during Crisis(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/system/ill/financial_crisis.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/parent/en_espanol/preguntas/financial_crisis_esp.html
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Insure Kids Now: Questions and Answers(Dept. of Health and Human Services) - http://www.insurekidsnow.gov/questions.asp
Also available in Spanish http://www.insurekidsnow.gov/espanol/questions.asp
- Healthy Pregnancy: Help Paying for Health Care(National Women's Health Information Center) - http://womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/childbirthandbeyond/helppaying.cfm
- Health Insurance - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/healthinsurance.html
- Medicaid - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/medicaid.html
- Medicare - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/medicare.html
- Health System - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/healthsystem.html
- Social/Family Issues - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/socialfamilyissues.html