FAQ: Discounted/Free Medical and Dental Care and Medicines - US and International

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You can find information about discounted/free medical and dental care and medicines in the United States and other countries at:

• US

• International

US

• MedlinePlus®
  Clearinghouses or organizations may give you referrals to free medication programs. To find them, search for the Web page about your disease in http://medlineplus.gov .
  
  
  • Financial Assistance
    http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/financialassistance.html
    
    
  • Medicaid, at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/medicaid.html
    
    
  • Medicare, at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/medicare.html
    
    
  • MedlinePlus GoLocal
    http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/golocal/index.html
    
    
    1. Choose a state or region
    2. Search under "Services by Providers, Facilities and Services"
    3. Click "Community Clinics" or "Dentists"

• Find Affordable Health Care: Find a Health Center
  Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
  http://ask.hrsa.gov/pc/
  
  
• Look in your phone book for local medical and dental schools. They often offer free or low-cost clinics.
  Also look for county hospitals and local government social service agencies.
  
  Dental Schools
  http://www.ada.org/prof/ed/programs/search_ddsdmd_us.asp
  
  Medical Schools:
  Click "Member Medical Schools"
  http://services.aamc.org/memberlistings/index.cfm
  
  
• State or county health departments or social workers at your local hospital
  http://www.apha.org/about/Public+Health+Links/LinksStateandLocalHealthDepartments.html
  
  
• State Hospital Associations
  http://www.aha.org/aha/colleagues/directory/index.html
  
  
• State Dental Associations
  http://www.ada.org/ada/organizations/searchcons1.asp
  
  
• The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America
  Work with doctors to refer patients to programs that provide medicines
  https://www.pparx.org/Intro.php
  
  
• VA Health Care Eligibility & Enrollment page, US Department of Veterans Affairs
  If you are or have served in the US Armed Forces, or are a dependent of someone who is or has served
  http://www.va.gov/healtheligibility
  
  
• Financial Assistance for medical care and medicines
  http://www.genome.gov/11008842
  
  
• Clinical Trials information: Your health insurance may not pay for patient care costs associated with a clinical trial.
  This is because some health plans define a clinical trial as "experimental" or "investigational."
  http://clinicaltrials.gov/
  
  Medicare and Clinical Trials explains how people with Medicare can join some clinical trials.
  Medicare will pay some of the patient care costs.
  http://www.medicare.gov/Publications/Pubs/pdf/02226.pdf
  
  

International

• FAQ:International Drug Information
  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/services/drug_intl.html
  
  
• International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
  http://www.ifrc.org/address/directory.asp
  
  
• Directory of international medical care organizations
  http://dir.yahoo.com/Health/Medicine/Organizations/International_Relief_and_Development/
  
  
• Clinical Trials information
  http://clinicaltrials.gov/
  
  

These resources may help you find information on free/discounted medical and dental care and medicines. NLM does not recommend or endorse any products, services or information found outside of NLM resources.

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Last reviewed: 04 May 2009
Last updated: 04 May 2009
First published: 25 April 2005
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