Healthcare and Financial Aid

Healthcare Bluebook helps patients save money on medical expenses -- everything from drugs to surgery to x-rays -- by giving them access to a U.S. database that estimates a fair price for treatments in their zip code. A registration is required to access the free database.

Dollar For is a non-profit that helps low and middle income patients stay out of medical debt by advocating for them with hospitals. Under the Affordable Care Act, non-profit hospitals in the U.S. are required to offer charity assistance programs to patients to keep their tax exempt status.

Partnership for Prescription Assistance connects uninsured or underinsured patients to over 475 public and private assistance programs that provide free or low-cost prescription drugs.

Retirement Living has a list of five recommended discount prescription drug programs, along with reviews and a summary of how each one works.

RxSaver has a free mobile app that allows you to compare prescription prices at pharmacies in your area. You then show the discounted price on your phone to a participating pharmacy. The price you see is the price you pay.

GoodRx also has a mobile app where you can compare prescription prices at local pharmacies and print free coupons.

WellRx is another drug discount program. Registered users get a savings card that they can use at pharmacies to get an average of 45% off the cost of brand name and generic prescription drugs.

America's Pharmacy offers discounted prices on many medications for patients who are uninsured, underinsured or have high co-payments. Patients can save up to 80% with their prescription discount card.

Lilly Cares Foundation is a non-profit that operates a patient assistance program that helps qualifying patients obtain the Eli Lilly medications they need in the areas of mental health, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, men's health, osteoporosis, oncology, psoriasis, and growth hormone disorders.

The National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics provides a range of medical, dental, pharmacy, vision and behavioral health services to low income Americans. Their website can also help you find a free or charitable clinic that provides meals, companionship and safety checks to seniors and others with mobility issues.

Dental Lifeline Network provides donated dental services. They will connect you with a dentist who will make up a treatment plan for you.  

Social Security’s Ticket to Work program provides work opportunities to people on disability.

Novoresume has a career guide for people with disabilities to help them find work, job interview tips, and how to answer questions about their disability.

Wikibuy has a list of 63 various discounts available to people with disabilities, from scholarships and financial aid to museums and bus transportation.

Intuit Turbo has a list of scholarships available for students with disabilities, including those with mobility and physical disabilities.

Information and Education

The Tennant Foundation’s Adhesive Hope website has valuable resources where people with arachnoiditis and others intractable pain conditions can learn about managing their symptoms with new diagnositic and treatment protocols.

The FDA’s Adverse Event Reporting System is an extensive database where you can search for information on adverse medical events reported to the FDA by the pharmaceutical industry, healthcare providers and consumers. For example, you could look up the number and type of adverse events involving acetaminophen or any other drug.

ClinicalTrials is a U.S. government website where you can search a database of publicly and privately supported clinical studies on thousands of medical conditions, drugs and treatments.

TrialResults is intended for those who are interested in plain language summaries of complicated clinical trials in an easily understood format. Visit the website and search for whatever topic you are interested in.

MediFind helps people find providers who can treat their specific medical condition and, if needed, get second opinions. It also has a database of medical research, clinical trials and other information that can help patients learn about their conditions, symptoms and possible treatments. 

Ketamine Patient Portal is a resource site created by the American Society of Ketamine Physicians to help patients and providers learn about the growing use of ketamine in treating pain and mood disorders.

Physician Compare helps patients find and compare doctors and other providers enrolled in Medicare.

Vitals is a search engine that can help you find a doctor with a specific specialty anywhere in the United States, along with patient reviews.

Amino utilizes an extensive database of insurance claims to help patients "take the guesswork out of healthcare" by identifying doctors, specialists and treatments in their area.

RateMDs has patient reviews of over a million physicians and health facilities, including some outside the United States.

Healthgrades uses an extensive database and patient reviews to rate doctors based on their experience, complication rates at the hospitals where they practice, and patient satisfaction.

Surgeon Scorecard was developed by ProPublica to rate surgeons who perform eight common elective procedures, including spinal fusions, knee replacements, and hip replacements.

Treatment Tracker uses a Medicare database to rank how often doctors prescribe treatments and procedures compared to their colleagues. Does your doctor order a lot of unnecessary or expensive tests and bill them to Medicare? You can use this tool to find out if there might be an issue.

Hospital Compare uses patient reviews to rate the quality of care at over 4,000 Medicare-certified hospitals.  Medicare's funding formula rewards hospitals that are rated highly by patients, while penalizing those that are not.  

Leapfrog Hospital Survey rates 1,800 hospitals in the United States on various safety and quality issues, ranging from hand washing policies to surgical outcomes.

Ask a Patient uses patient reviews to rate the effectiveness of medications and their side effects on a 1 to 5 scale. Cymbalta, for example, gets a rating of 2.7, which is based on the reviews of over 2,750 patients. You can add your own ratings anonymously to their database.

Iodine has been called the "Yelp of Medicine." It also uses patient reviews to rate the quality, effectiveness and side effects of prescription drugs.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has a database that reveals if your doctor received money from a drug maker or medical device company for consulting, travel expenses, meals, research and speaker fees.

Dollars for Docs is a similar website created by ProPublica that tracks payments to doctors by drug makers and medical device companies.

PubMed allows you to search for published research studies involving treatments and medications.

The Peggy Lillis Foundation is a non-profit raising awareness about clostridioides difficile, a bacteria that causes a chronic inflammatory condition in the colon known as a C. diff infection. The foundation has a free nutrition and lifestyle guide to help C. diff patients improve their gut health.

OpenMD is a search engine where you can learn about hundreds of health conditions and treatments, and access medical journals and government databases.

Consumer and Patient Health Information Services Caucus has compiled a list 100 health websites it considers trustworthy.

Choosing Wisely is an initiative of the ABIM Foundation to educate patients and providers about wasteful or unnecessary medical tests, treatments and procedures. If your doctor recommends a particular treatment, you can search a database to see if it is appropriate for your condition.

If you feel you've been been denied healthcare because of a disability, you can file a discrimination complaint with the U.S. Justice Department under the Americans with Disabilities Act.  The ADA protects patients against discrimination based on physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major activities.

Contact My Politician is a web-based platform that gives you an easy way to identify and contact national, state and local elected officials in the United States — and then hold them accountable by grading their communications and responses to you. You can seek help, ask questions or express your opinion on any topic, without wondering if you’re actually being heard.

Counseling and Hotlines

The National Health Information Center has an extensive list of toll free hotlines for information on medical conditions.

If you are in a mental health crisis, help is available by calling the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (formerly know as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline) at 988 or 1-800-273-8255 (TALK). You can also call 911 for immediate help.

Suicide.org has a listing of suicide hotlines by state.

If you live in Canada, help is available by calling the 211 Life Line at 211 or 833-456-4566. For residents of Quebec, call 866-277-3553.

The Samaritans is a hotline that offers emotional support to people dealing with every kind of problem, including illness, trauma and loss.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has a web page that can help you find a drug abuse or mental health treatment facility near you.

Brain on Nature is a free podcast by Australian journalist Sarah Allely, who found that spending time in nature reduced her anxiety, depression and chronic pain.

Crisis Text Line offers free, 24/7 support for people in any type of crisis. Text 741741 in the United States or Text 686868 in Canada and you’ll be connected with a trained crisis counselor.