I have prescriptions for drugs that I cannot afford

If you don't have health insurance to cover your prescriptions, you could find assistance from a patient assistance program offered through a drug manufacturing company. These programs exist because the problem you've described is very common.

Forty-one percent of adults say it's at least somewhat of a problem for their family to pay for prescription drugs they need, including 16 percent who say it's a serious problem, according to a March 2008 report titled "The Public on Prescription Drugs and Pharmaceutical Companies" issued jointly by USA Today, Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard School of Public Health. This leads a troubling number of patients to skip doses or not fill prescriptions.

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Most drug manufacturers offer patient assistance programs for people who can't afford their medicine. First, talk to your doctor about the issue. Perhaps less-expensive generic drugs are available to treat your conditions. Also, if you can't take full doses or get your prescriptions filled, your doctor needs to know this. Your physician can also help you with the application process for financial assistance or refer you to programs. Some drug makers that offer patient assistance programs prefer to communicate directly with a physician, social worker or patient advocate.

A variety of non-profit groups connect patients to programs as well. The Access Project helps patients find assistance - whether it's through Medicaid, Medicare Part D, a state program, a drug company's patient assistance program, private health insurance or even a clinical trial.

RxAssist offers a database of patient assistance programs. You only need to answer a few questions to register. Then, you can search by drug name or pharmaceutical company to find programs.

The Free Medicine Program sends you an application kit that helps you apply for assistance. The program is only open to people who don’t have prescription drug coverage, meet low-income qualifications and don't qualify for government assistance programs.

To see a list of resources, read about how to get free prescription medicine.