Medication assistance resources

Below are resources and programs (Hope Clinic; Patient Assistance; Medicare and Medicaid) to assist patients with the cost of their medications. Adena also offers a charity fill program for eligible patients. To refer to this program, complete the assistance form.

Hope Clinic Charitable Pharmacy

Hope Clinic offers free prescription medications for those who meet any of these qualifications:

  • Must be uninsured or unable to afford prescription copay.
  • Have an income of 300% or less of the Federal Poverty Guideline.
  • Can have an income over 300% of the FPG if your monthly expenses equal or exceed your monthly income. See Federal Poverty Guidelines

Pharmacy caregivers will counsel patients on proper medication usage and offer health and wellness education. If you have pharmacy questions, please call 740-672-2095.

Before coming to the pharmacy, patients need to print and complete the following forms and bring the paperwork to the with him or her to the pharmacy:

The Charitable Pharmacy is available to non-Ross County residents.

Patient Assistance Programs

Patient Assistance Programs are offered for many medications through the pharmaceutical companies to help a patient afford the cost of medication. 

NeedyMeds is a general search tool for patient assistance programs to help patients defer medication costs. From this site you can access patient assistance applications, coupons, and discount programs. 

RxAssist offers a comprehensive database of these patient assistance programs, as well as practical tools, news, and articles so that health care professionals and patients can find the needed information.

Medicare Extra Help

About the program (for a patient information page, click here)

Medicare Extra Help is a low-income subsidy that offsets the cost of prescription drugs on a patient's Medicare Part D plan. If the patient's resources are below a certain threshold, s/he may qualify for assistance.  Extra Help is worth about $5,300 per year for each beneficiary.

There are two financial criteria for Extra Help. The first is income. The second is based on resources. Patients are potentially eligible if:

  • Income—Individual, $20,385 or married, $27,465)
  • Resources—combined savings, investments, and real estate are not worth more than $16,630 individual or $33,240, if married and living with a spouse. The following resources do NOT count: home, vehicles, personal possessions, life insurance, burial plots, irrevocable burial contracts or back payments from Social Security or SSI.
  • If the annual income is higher, the patient may still be able to get some help if they support other family members who live with them or have earnings from work.

The Extra Help program assists people with limited resources and lower incomes in paying for Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage. Receiving Extra Help with your Medicare Part D can:

  • Eliminate the Medicare Part D late enrollment penalty
  • Reduce your out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs
  • Eliminate monthly Medicare Part D premiums
  • Reduce or eliminate annual Medicare Part D deductible
  • Eliminate the coverage gap, also known as the donut hole

As Extra Help removes the donut hole, your prescriptions will not cost more when the patient exceeds the annual spending limit. The program saves beneficiaries nearly $5,000 in Medicare Part D costs per year. If the patient is eligible for Medicaid or any of the following Medicare Savings Programs, s/he automatically qualifies.

With Extra Help, each generic prescription costs no more than $4.15, and each brand-name prescription does not cost more than $10.35.

How to apply for assistance

Applying for Extra Help is easy. Complete the Application for Extra Help with Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs (Form SSA-1020) using one of these methods:

  • Apply online at www.ssa.gov/extrahelp
  • Call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) to apply over the phone or to request an application.
  • Apply at the local Social Security office.

Some documents needed (as applicable) to complete the application are:

  • Social Security card;
  • bank account statements, including checking, savings, and certificates of deposit;
  • Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA), stocks, bonds, savings bonds (including book entry securities*), mutual funds, other investment statements;
  • tax returns;
  • payroll slips; and
  • most recent Social Security benefits award letters or statements for Railroad Retirement benefits, Veterans benefits, pensions and annuities.

The following are examples of resources. If applicable, information about resources is also needed to apply.

  • Real estate (primary residence excluded)
  • Money in bank accounts (checking, saving)
  • Stocks
  • Bonds
  • Mutual funds
  • Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs)
  • Any cash

The following do not count as resources:

  • Primary residence
  • Vehicle(s)
  • Personal belongings
  • Burial expenses
  • Interest on money slated for use as burial expenses

After applying, Social Security will review the application and send a letter to the applicant to notify them is they qualified (or not) for Extra Help. After qualifying, s/he can choose a Medicare prescription drug plan. If no plan is selected, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will do it for the applicant. The sooner the patient joins a plan; the sooner s/he will begin receiving benefits. If s/he isn’t eligible for Extra Help, s/he can still enroll in a Medicare prescription drug plan.

If the applicant disagrees with the decision made about his or her eligibility for Extra Help, an Appeal of Determination for Extra Help with Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs needs completed. 

Note: If the applicant did not enroll in Medicare Part D when s/he first became eligible, the late enrollment penalty will be waived if approved for the program.

Additional Resources and information

For more information, please review the following links or contact Social Security at 1-800-772-1213.

Ohio Medicaid

Ohio Medicaid programs help individuals take an active role in their health care by improving access to care. Applicants must qualify for assistance (financial need). Eligibility criteria is listed below. To apply, visit Ohio's Benefit Page.

Who Qualifies for Coverage?

The following individuals may qualify for Medicaid coverage in Ohio:

  • Be a United States citizen or meet Medicaid non-citizen requirements
  • Individuals with low-income
  • Pregnant women, infants, and children
  • Older adults
  • Individuals with disabilities

 To be eligible for coverage, you must:

Non-U.S. citizens may be eligible for Alien Emergency Medical Assistance or Refugee Medical Assistance.