Childhood Cancer

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Your Child in the Hospital

Free medicine programs

Children sometimes need expensive medications that insurance will not cover. Most major U.S. drug companies have patient-assistance programs, and you can apply to obtain free or low-cost prescription drugs. Although each company has its own criteria for qualification, in general, you must:

• Be a U.S. citizen or legal resident

• Have a prescription for the medication you are applying to get

• Have no prescription drug coverage for the medication

• Meet income requirements

You may qualify even if you have health insurance, if it does not cover the medication prescribed to your child. For expensive medications, the income cut-off is high, so it is worth investigating whether or not you qualify. Several organizations that can help you find and apply to patient-assistance programs are listed in Resources. Because the application process takes time and includes obtaining information from your child’s doctor(s), plan ahead so you do not run out of medication.

Our insurance does not cover the growth hormone that my daughter needs. Her physician cannot believe that our insurance company denied coverage given her medical history, but that’s our situation. The medication is incredibly expensive. We applied to a patient-assistance program and were thrilled to find out that we qualified if our adjusted gross income was less than $100,000 a year. The application process the first year was hard and took a few months, but now we just fill in a form and send in our tax return every year, and she is requalified. We get a shipment of growth hormone every three months and keep it in the fridge.

MedicaidService organizations

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