Hannah Louise needs to take several medications on a regular basis. Her full-time job doesn't include health insurance. Paying for her prescriptions has become impossible on her salary, so now she's trying to decide which ones she can cut out and still stay healthy enough to work and help take care of her mother, Magdalena.

Magdalena has Medicare Part D, but her list of medications is so long and expensive that she hits the "donut hole" around this time every year. Then she faces the same awful dilemma of which medications she might be able to live without.

These are not good choices for either Magdalena or Hannah. While there's no perfect answer, The Free Medicine Program provided a workable solution for them, and it might for you and your senior as well.

Some time ago most of the pharmaceutical manufacturer's in the US made a promise that no needy person would have to go without necessary medications. Each participating company has set up procedures whereby needy patients can obtain their prescribed medications at no cost.

Unfortunately for the people who desperately need these medications, the process of identifying the manufacturer (especially if you're on a generic drug), contacting them to see if the drug is covered, and getting the necessary paperwork sent to you, completed and returned, is an overwhelming chore.

There are several entities out there that fill the void between knowing help is out there and actually getting it. Some clinics serving low income and senior patients maintain lists and have a social worker or other employee available to help. More power to them, and we wish more patients had this kind of help available. If you do, take advantage of it!

Many for-profit programs charge some stiff fees for the privilege of helping patients more easily access help getting free medications. Some charge as much as $10 per prescription, which can add up in a real hurry.

The best assistance program we have found remains the Free Medicine Program. This program, run by volunteers, has been around for years and years, quietly helping thousands of people. They charge a minimal processing fee of $5 to cover all your prescriptions, and if they aren't able to help get you at least one for free they will fully refund your $5.

If you or your elder meet the following criteria the Free Medicine Program may be able to help you:

You have no insurance coverage for outpatient prescription drugs

You do not qualify for a government program such as Medicaid which helps pay for prescription drugs

Your income is at a level which causes a hardship when you must purchase medication at retail

While the Free Medicine Program does not do all the work for you, they will identify which of your medications are covered, send you the appropriate application forms, and they will also send information for your doctor to assist him or her in recommending that you be accepted (this is immensely important).

This will save you a ton of time and work, and it's only $5.

You can make application for help from the Free Medicine Program online at http://www.freemedicineprogram.org

Even if you decide you would rather do all this legwork yourself (we can't imagine why you would want to) you can still use their website to research whether your medication is included in a pharmaceutical assistance program. They maintain an up-to-date list of covered and non-covered drugs at http://www.freemedicineprogram.org/available_medicine