State Resources & Information

• Request Assistance
• HIV Treatments
• Hepatitis Treatments
• Patient Assistance Programs
• Make a Donation
• Federal poverty Guidelines

We know that people are very carefully watching whatever money they have and prioritizing their needs. But there are still resources available. Although we can't say that we can find insurance or health care for everyone, we're pretty experienced at locating resources of many kinds.You may not spend a lot of time tracking changes in the health care system, or even if your local hospital or clinic is still open. The last few months have brought great changes. Even if you are privately insured, you have to fight harder for health care. We do not have a universally accessible health care system in this country, but we're working on it. It is going to become harder and harder to get care that you could have gotten through a scheduled visit with a health care provider through the emergency room of a hospital.

We understand many of the issues that make emergency room care seem attractive, but it ends up costing everyone - including you - a whole lot more money. Plus you usually end up having a more serious, harder to treat condition than if you had taken the time and made the effort to get care before it reached the emergency room stage. We also understand that co-pays and deductibles associated with private insurance, state subsidized insurance, or Medicare can make accessing what you need impossible. Recent reports on the use of Cobra to keep health care insurance are distressing. How insurance companies operate has been called into question. But there are people who can help you navigate through a system that is rapidly changing, and making greater demands of you and your time and energy. A recent article points out some of the ways you can deal with these changes. Participating in The Access Project is one way, as is enrolling in our New York City case management program if you live in or receive services in New York City.

There are drug discount cards, for example, that can reduce the costs of your medications. There are Patient Assistance Programs offered by many pharmaceutical companies and you might be eligible for one of those. Some of these programs pay co-payments or part of them, or even premiums and deductibles. There is a government website that lists every Medicare Part D plan that you could get (depending on your income or your age, you may be eligible for special no or very low cost plans) and what drugs must be covered by every plan, for example.

Use the Request Assistance form, and please provide as much information as you can. The reason why we ask for specific information about your income or assets is to determine what programs are available. We won't share that information with anyone unless it is required to get you services or treatment, and we will always ask you first if that is okay and describe how any information would be shared. Any federal or state program will require income verification and even how much money you have in the bank or whether you own any property or assets worth more than $10,000, for example. You might want to speak with us about that before you start a process on your own. Programs such as ADAP are not just transferrable from one state to another.