NeedyMeds Video: Finding Help with Medical Expenses

By Karen Lee Richards, Health Guide Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Medical costs continue to rise and unemployment is still high. The result? More and more of us are finding ourselves without medical insurance; or if we do still have insurance, we're finding that they are paying for less and less.   Two nonprofit organizations recently teamed up to help us find...
5/16/12 6:47am

I really hate the name of this service.. it hits a sour note to think of myself as "needy", but I sure appreciate what they did for the cost of some of my prescriptions! As a result of the heavy regulation on them, the prices on opiate meds are ludicrous, as anyone who has to pay them out-of-pocket has discovered, but NeedyMeds got them down to at least the point that I can (almost) afford them. This is a great service for EVERYONE playing BigPharma Bingo! It's a very simple process to sign up and I urge everyone to at least see what they can do for you. Don't let the name put you off!

Karen Lee Richards, Health Guide
5/16/12 7:08am

I echo your sentiments, Nancy.  The name is awful and a bit degrading but they do offer a great service.  I have to admit, I avoided using them for several years because I found the name so offensive.  I applied for Patient Assistance Programs through PPARx.  But then my doctor's office started printing the forms off of NeedyMeds for me so I gave in and used them. What's impressive is they offer so much information about other resources in addition to the prescription drug assistance.  They're definitely worth checking out.

5/16/12 7:20am

I'm glad it's not just me who finds their name more than a little degrading.  Perhaps if they hear it from others, they'll consider changing it to something less so. I can think of dozens of better possibilities, even if their primary goal is to assist the poor. "Needy" would be very close to the bottom of my list.

5/21/12 5:38am

Thanks for the comments. We have discussed our name and how it may turn off some people. One problem is that we are so well known that it would be a major rebranding effort and right now we would rather spend the money helping people.

 

That said, we are always open to consider a more appropriate name. 

 

In the meantime please help us spread the word about all the information we list.

 

Rich

 

Rich Sagall, MD

President

NeedyMeds, Inc.

P.O. Box 219

Gloucester, MA 01931

richsagall@needymeds.org 

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By Karen Lee Richards, Health Guide— Last Modified: 03/10/13, First Published: 05/16/12