Drug savings guides

Charity and manufacturer assistance: what is actually open

Status read on each program’s own site on September 16, 20262026-09-16

3 of the 10 programs below were closed to new applicants on that date, including every charity fund that pays toward a weight-loss GLP-1. We have no relationship with any of them and cannot influence an application. Fund status changes without notice, so confirm on the program’s own page before you count on it.

• Closed

  TotalAssist (Patient Advocate Foundation; merged with PAN Foundation)

  Obesity fund

  The catch: This is the one charity fund built for weight-loss drugs, and it is closed. Its own rules also require health insurance that already covers the expense, so a cash-pay patient would not qualify even when it is open.

  Income limit as stated

  Have an income at or less than 300% of the Federal Poverty Level, adjusted for your regional Cost of Living Index (COLI)

  Insurance requirement

  Have health insurance that covers your qualifying expenses (fund list row: “Health insurance (any)”)

  Award

  $1,000 guaranteed award | $2,000 maximum award

  Phone

  866-512-3861 (Mon–Fri 8:30am–5:30pm ET)

  Status checked: Closed to new applicants when we checked the program's own page on September 16, 2026. Source

• Closed

  TotalAssist (Patient Advocate Foundation; merged with PAN Foundation)

  Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) fund

  The catch: Closed, and it was never open to everyone: this fund requires government-insured coverage, so commercially insured and uninsured patients are ineligible. The companion type 2 diabetes health equity fund is closed as well.

  Income limit as stated

  Have an income at or less than 500% of the Federal Poverty Level, adjusted for your regional Cost of Living Index (COLI)

  Insurance requirement

  Have government-insured coverage that covers your qualifying expenses (fund list row: “Government-insured coverage (Medicare, Medicaid, or TRICARE)”)

  Award

  $1,500 guaranteed award | $2,000 maximum award

  Phone

  866-512-3861 (Mon–Fri 8:30am–5:30pm ET)

  Status checked: Closed to new applicants when we checked the program's own page on September 16, 2026. Source

• Open

  TotalAssist (program-level rules)

  Program-wide eligibility (nearly 150 funds)

  The catch: The program runs, but you can only apply to a fund that is open, and both funds that reach GLP-1s — obesity and type 2 diabetes — were closed on the date checked. A closed fund offers a notification sign-up, not a waitlist queue.

  Income limit as stated

  Have a household income of 500% or less than the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) guidelines, adjusted by the Cost-of-Living Index (COLI) for where the patient lives — with the exception: “Household income of 300% or less than the Federal Poverty Level (only our obesity fund)”

  Insurance requirement

  Have active insurance coverage that includes coverage for pharmaceutical products; the required insurance type varies by fund

  Award

  Varies by fund; grants run on an “individual 12-month rolling grant cycle”

  Phone

  866-512-3861

  Status checked: Open on September 16, 2026. Source

• Closed

  HealthWell Foundation

  Type 2 Diabetes fund

  The catch: HealthWell has no obesity or weight-management fund at all, so a weight-loss prescription has no route here. The type 2 diabetes fund is the only one that reaches a GLP-1, and it is closed: “This fund is temporarily closed to new patients due to lack of sufficient funding.”

  Income limit as stated

  300–500% of the Federal Poverty Level (fund page); program-wide, “up to 400 or 500 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (somewhat more in cities where the cost of living is higher)”

  Insurance requirement

  “some form of health insurance (private insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, TriCare, etc.) that covers part of the cost of your treatment”; “Drug discount cards do not qualify as insurance.”

  Award

  $1,000 per patient, grant period 12 months

  Phone

  (800) 675-8416 (Mon–Fri 9am–5pm ET)

  Status checked: Closed to new applicants when we checked the program's own page on September 16, 2026. Source

• Open

  Novo Nordisk Patient Assistance Program (PAP)

  Manufacturer patient assistance program (free medicine)

  The catch: Ozempic is the only GLP-1 on the product list. Wegovy and Saxenda are not on it, so there is no free-medicine route to a branded obesity GLP-1 from Novo Nordisk. For Ozempic the program takes uninsured patients only, at or below 200% of the federal poverty level.

  Income limit as stated

  Ozempic (uninsured): “Total household income must be at or below 200% of the federal poverty level”; insulins and all other products: “Total household income must be at or below 400% of the federal poverty level”

  Insurance requirement

  Must have Medicare or no insurance; private or commercial insurance makes a patient ineligible. For Ozempic, uninsured patients only — Medicare Part D patients are no longer eligible for Ozempic through PAP.

  Award

  Medicine at no cost; approval lasts 12 months for uninsured patients, through the end of the calendar year for Medicare patients

  Phone

  1-866-310-7549 (Mon–Fri 8am–8pm ET)

  Status checked: Open on September 16, 2026. Source

• Open

  Lilly Cares Foundation

  Lilly Cares Patient Assistance Program

  The catch: The only GLP-1 offered is Trulicity, a type 2 diabetes drug. Zepbound and Mounjaro appear in no medication group and on no Available Medications page, so tirzepatide has no free-medicine route here. Private commercial insurance disqualifies.

  Income limit as stated

  Group 1 Medications (at or below 300% FPL); Group 2 Medications (at or below 400% FPL); Group 3 & Group 4 Medications (at or below 500% FPL) — 2026 FPL guidelines. Household of 1/2/3/4 for Group 1: $47,880 / $64,920 / $81,960 / $99,000.

  Insurance requirement

  For Group 1, 2 and 3 medications, which includes Trulicity: “1) You have no insurance, or 2) you have Medicare Part D (not applicable to infused medications), or 3) you have Medicare Part B but have no supplemental or secondary insurance”

  Award

  Free medication; enrollment generally lasts 12 months or to the end of the enrollment period

  Phone

  1-800-545-6962

  Status checked: Open on September 16, 2026. Source

• Open

  Patient Advocate Foundation

  Case Management Services & MedCareLine; Financial Aid Funds

  The catch: Case management is advocacy, not money: it does not pay for medication. It is worth a call for an insurance denial or appeal. The grant arm is TotalAssist, whose obesity and type 2 diabetes funds are closed.

  Income limit as stated

  No income threshold is published for case management; TotalAssist income limits apply to grants

  Insurance requirement

  No insurance requirement is stated for advocacy; case management is offered to patients “facing a chronic, life-threatening or debilitating diagnosis”

  Award

  Case management carries no grant; TotalAssist grants vary by fund

  Phone

  Case Management (800) 532-5274 (Mon–Fri 8:30am–5pm ET); TotalAssist (866) 512-3861; Financial Aid Funds (855) 824-7941

  Status checked: Open on September 16, 2026. Source

• Directory only

  NeedyMeds

  Information directory and free drug discount card

  The catch: NeedyMeds awards no money. It lists other people's programs and issues a discount card — and a discount card is not insurance, which matters because HealthWell states “Drug discount cards do not qualify as insurance.” for its own eligibility.

  Income limit as stated

  None for the discount card: “Can be used by anyone — no financial, age, or residency restrictions”

  Insurance requirement

  None; the card is usable with or without insurance

  Award

  No grant. The card is advertised as “Save up to 80%” on prescriptions.

  Phone

  800-503-6897 (toll-free helpline)

  Status checked: Directory only on September 16, 2026. Source

• Directory only

  RxAssist

  Directory of patient assistance programs

  The catch: A lookup tool, not a funder: no money, no grants, no application, and no patient helpline published on the site. Use it to find manufacturer programs, not to pay for a prescription.

  Income limit as stated

  None — RxAssist awards nothing; income rules belong to the programs it lists

  Insurance requirement

  None stated

  Award

  No award; directory only

  Phone

  No patient helpline published on the site

  Status checked: Directory only on September 16, 2026. Source

• Open

  AZ&Me Prescription Savings Program (AstraZeneca)

  Manufacturer patient assistance program

  The catch: No GLP-1 for obesity is offered by this program, and its two diabetes drugs stopped taking new patients: “Effective May 1, 2026, the AZ&Me program will no longer accept new patients for FARXIGA and XIGDUO XR”. Any commercial insurance disqualifies.

  Income limit as stated

  Annual adjusted gross income must be at or below 300% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) for Primary and Specialty Medications; 500% of FPL for Rare Disease Medications

  Insurance requirement

  “Not have any commercial (private or employer-sponsored) insurance or government insurance other than Medicare”

  Award

  Medication at no cost, up to a 90-day supply per fill

  Phone

  1-800-292-6363 (Mon–Fri 9:00am–6:00pm ET)

  Status checked: Open on September 16, 2026. Source