Paying for Treatment
Getting the medicine you need is not always easy. If you’re worried about how you will pay for your HIV therapy, here are a few tips:
Talk to your healthcare team
If you're worried about how you'll pay for treatment, talk to your healthcare team. Your healthcare team may help you apply for most assistance programs.
Contact your insurance company
HIV drugs are generally covered by insurance. If you have health insurance, contact your health insurance company to discuss your HIV drug coverage.
Look into government programs
If you are not insured or your insurance won't pay for your HIV drugs, one of the following government programs may be able to help.
AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs) are state-run programs that help people with HIV by covering some of the cost of their HIV prescription drugs. For more information, contact the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or visit the website link below to find your State HIV/AIDS Hotline:
1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636)
hab.hrsa.gov/findcare/index.htm
Medicaid is the state-run national health insurance program that helps certain people who need help paying for medical care. For more information, contact them at:
1-877-267-2323 (press "3" to access your state Medicaid phone number)
www.cms.hhs.gov/home/medicaid.asp
Veterans Affairs (VA) has a government program for people who have served in the United States military. The VA is the largest single provider of HIV care in the country. For more information, contact them at:
1-877-222-8387
www.hiv.va.gov
Contact pharmaceutical companies
Many pharmaceutical companies offer programs to help qualified patients who need access to HIV meds.
For more information about Gilead's patient assistance program, Advancing Access®, contact them at:
1-800-226-2056
www.gilead.com/us_advancing_access
Contact the Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPA)
The Partnership for Prescription Assistance includes pharmaceutical companies working with more than 1,300 healthcare organizations and leaders in the medical community.
The aim of the program is to help Americans who are not insured to obtain the prescription drugs they need at no or low cost. Since April 2005, PPA has helped more than 5 million Americans find programs that can help them pay for their drugs. More than 2,500 brand-name and generic medicines are covered.
To find out if you qualify, here’s all you need to do:
- Know the names of the medicines you take.
- Call toll-free 1-888-4PPA-NOW (1-888-477-2669).
- A trained specialist will answer your questions and help you apply.
The call center handles calls in English, Spanish and about 150 other languages. You can also visit the website at www.pparx.org.
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