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Epilepsy and Financial Help

Epilepsy occurs when the the brain misfires, causing either convulsions or a brief time period of unconsciousness. Those who have epilepsy need to see a doctor regularly and need to take medications to control seizure activity. The cost of frequent trips to the doctor and the cost of monthly prescriptions can be financially draining. Those who struggle to pay for necessary medical care and prescriptions should seek financial assistance.

  1. Significance

    • According to the Epilepsy Foundation, epilepsy affects more than 3 million people in the United States. Many individuals affected by epilepsy struggle to pay for monthly prescriptions. Seizure medications can cost $100 or more each month.

    Types

    • Types of financial assistance available for people with epilepsy include prescription assistance and scholarships. The Epilepsy Foundation and other prescription assistance programs provide prescription medicine assistance to those with epilepsy. The Epilepsy Life Links program provides summer camp and college scholarships to young people with epilepsy. Also, the Pfizer pharmaceutical company awards college scholarships to high school seniors with epilepsy each year.

    Time Frame

    • The Epilepsy Foundation will pay for one prescription per year. Other long-term prescription assistance programs can be found at pparx.org. Long-term programs typically continue to provide assistance as long as medication is needed to control epilepsy.

    Considerations

    • In some cases, epilepsy may be severe enough to qualify the affected individual for government assistance such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. According to the Epilepsy Foundation, more than one grand mal seizure per month or more than one petit mal seizure per week may qualify an individual for assistance. Those who may qualify should apply for assistance with the Social Security Administration either in person or online at socialsecurity.gov. Those older than 65 may qualify for Medicare and those younger than 18 may qualify for Medicaid. Medicare and Medicaid provide doctor visit assistance and medication assistance.

    Warning

    • The Epilepsy Foundation warns that many companies promise to help with prescription costs only after individuals pay for a membership. These programs should be avoided. The programs available through the Epilepsy Foundation and its affiliates do not cost anything.

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