Prescription Assistance   https://www.pparx.org/Intro.php   The Partnership for Prescription Assistance brings together America's pharmaceutical companies, doctors, other health care providers, patient advocacy organizations and community groups to help qualifying patients who lack prescription coverage get the medicines they need through the public or private program that's right for them. Many will get them free or nearly free. Among the organizations collaborating on this program are the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association, the Lupus Foundation of America, the NAACP, the National Alliance for Hispanic Health and the National Medical Association. To access the Partnership for Prescription Assistance by phone, you can call toll-free, 1-888-4PPA-NOW (1-888-477-2669).

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)  www.cms.hhs.gov  Home page for CMS which is part of HHS. For information on Medicare click here www.cms.hhs.gov/home/medicare.asp.

For information on Medicaid click here www.cms.hhs.gov/home/medicaid.asp .

Medicare Handbooks  www.feddesk.com/medicare.htm  Understanding Medicare benefits can be a daunting tasks. Feddesk.com offers free Adobe Acrobat downloads on Medicare topics which is a great resource. Read the "Medicare & You 2006" handbook. Please click on the following link for the handbook: www.medicare.gov/publications/pubs/pdf/10050.pdf. It will list the specific plans available in your loved one's area. You can also visit www.medicare.gov on the web and get personalized information, or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). They can answer questions 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. (TTY 1-800-486-2048.)

Needymeds  www.needymeds.com  This site is designed to provide information about patient assistance programs which provide no cost prescription medications to eligible participants. NeedyMeds is an information source. It is sort of like the Yellow Pages. They have information on the programs many drug companies have that give away free prescription medications to people who have no insurance and qualify for their programs.

State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)  www.cms.hhs.gov/home/schip.asp  The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 created a new children's health insurance program called the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). This program gave each state permission to offer health insurance for children, up to age 19, who are not already insured. SCHIP is a state administered program and each state sets its own guidelines regarding eligibility and services.

State Health Insurance Counseling Programs (Medicare)  www.aafp.org/x19934.xml   If you are confused and are not sure if Medicare A/B or Medigap insurance is worthwhile because you already have a health insurance plan, or if you have other Medicare benefits questions, contact your local State Health Insurance Counseling Program Counselor. This site will give you your state's toll-free senior counseling hotline number to answer your questions.