Why RxHelp360.org Was Created

The American Association of Patient Advocates was formed by President and Founder Brandon Todd whose vision is to provide Patient Advocates with the tools, information and community to help them serve the millions of uninsured and underinsured in America. The rising costs of healthcare and prescription medication along with the complication and the increasing complexity of private, government and employee benefit plans put an ever increasing strain on American citizen's access to healthcare. Because of this, the need for patient advocacy is more important than ever if American's are to be able to access the healthcare they deserve. Yet, most patient advocates work alone or in small groups and are often strained by the large amounts of research and lack of support that they must endure on an ongoing basis. The American Association of Patient Advocates was founded to support and bring together patient advocates across the country in order to share information, experience and tools that help them to assist patients in need. Rxhelp360 is the first of many projects that will be launched in our efforts to change the way healthcare is delivered to our nations uninsured.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 44.8 million Americans were without health insurance in 2005 – that’s 15.3% of our entire population. There are some basic commonalities in this group:

There is a great likelihood that many of these people are a part of the “working poor” class. They do not receive health benefits at work, but they cannot afford to pay premiums on private health insurance.

Those who are uninsured often put off going to the doctor until they are in dire need of help, which often requires far more expensive care to eventually get them back to health. The fear of the cost of prescription medication to treat an illness keeps them away from the doctor. This common practice puts a tremendous amount strain in our health care system due to delayed attention to previously manageable illness.

A large portion of these people likely aren’t aware of what their healthcare options are. Many are simply afraid that they might not find help, and others just assume that they will face unbearable medical treatment bills no matter where they go.

There is an overwhelming need for a higher level of awareness within the uninsured population about healthcare options. There is help out there.

RxHelp360.org, AAPA's first project, is a much needed educational vehicle to deliver the message that knowledge is power when it comes to healthcare for the uninsured and that when patient advocates come together they can multiply their efforts for those they serve. The ‘working poor’ and uninsured do not have to suffer through illnesses afraid of what a visit to the doctor might cost, or what food or other basic necessities they will do without in order to buy the prescription medication they need.

Our Mission

The underserved, indigent, and ‘working poor’ in our country and consistently denied from using the healthcare technology advancements afforded to those who have health insurance. We believe that in our expertise of free medication assistance, we can empower this segment of our population to advocate for themselves and their needs by giving them access to technology that easily matches them with the programs that they need to get expensive prescription medication for free or a very low fee. There are also an incredible amount of free and low cost clinics with tireless staffs that work to help those who cannot afford traditional health care channels. By compiling the locations of these health care centers, our users can easily locate the help they need.

By creating a place where both patients, advocates and healthcare workers can come together to solve problems, offer up new ideas, and assist each other in the long course of greater public awareness and patient empowerment, we are saying to our country’s uninsured and poor Americans, “You are worth it. You deserve better care.”

Our Technology

One of the challenges that uninsured patients face is that they must do a lot of fact seeking and checking and updating in order to full understand what they have access to and how to get help. Most of these uninsured and indigent Americans either don’t have any access to the communications devices needed to find this information, or they simply do not have the time or knowledge to do it. We strive to maintain a single point of entry for those who want to learn what their options are, but also for advocates, caregivers, and family members so that they can find information for people without access to such resources.

We dedicate a great amount of time and energy to carefully maintain and update our free medication database so that our users can find the information they need quickly and easily. Our website was created with the special needs of our users in mind. Most notably:

Our Patient Assistance Program database goes far beyond just giving contact information and program applications. We dig deep into the inner workings of each Patient Assistance Program to give the most detailed process and insight into dealing with each company's guidelines in all situations.

Users can increase and decrease the text size so that our visually impaired visitors can navigate the site as easily as a well-sighted person.

We have simplified our navigational structure and web pages as much as possible so that our less savvy web users do not feel overwhelmed and can navigate back and forth easily.

We will be adding audio help to the site in the form of videos and audio files to ensure that help is available at all times.

We have not limited access to the Medication Qualification Tool for non-registered members because we know that many visitors may not have their own email address to register with, and therefore this would limit who we could help.

Community Outreach

Coming Soon

Our Future

The journey that we have undertaken is a long one with no real end in sight. We are committed to doing everything that we can to create a greater sense of awareness among the ‘working poor’, uninsured and indigent about healthcare options – and specifically the availability of free prescription medication and low cost healthcare – so that more people seek treatment sooner for their ailments without the fear of financial destitution from crushing medical bills. RxHelp360.org will soon receive 501(c)(3) status, and we will be working very closely with regional free clinic organizations, federally funded community health centers, and national advocacy groups to spread our message of an improved quality of life and health for some 44 million Americans without health insurance.

We welcome all volunteers to join us in our work. Please feel free to contact us if you can help!