Following is a list of contact information for organizations and services that provide financial assistance for vision care.
Download the Vision Care Financial Assistance Resource list
Vision Care Financial Assistance Directory (Spanish)
The American Academy of Ophthalmology EyeCare America® Program
The American Academy of Ophthalmology EyeCare America® Program
P.O. Box 429098
San Francisco, CA 94142-9098
Phone: (877) 887-6327
Fax: (415) 561-8567
www.aao.org/eyecareamerica
The American Academy of Ophthalmology EyeCare America® Program
P.O. Box 429098
San Francisco, CA 94142-9098
www.aao.org/eyecareamerica
Phone: (877) 887-6327
Fax: (415) 561-8567
EyeCare America provides eye care to US citizens and legal residents through volunteer ophthalmologists, often at no out-of-pocket cost to those who qualify. Visit www.aao.org/eyecareamerica to find out if you or someone you know qualifies for eye care. More than 90 percent of care provided is at no out-of-pocket cost to EyeCare America patients.
To be eligible for the Seniors program, you:
- Are a U.S. citizen or legal resident
- Are age 65 or older
- Do not belong to an HMO or have eye care benefits through the VA
- Have not seen an ophthalmologist in three or more years.
If you are not eligible for the Seniors program, you may qualify for the Glaucoma Program, which provides a glaucoma eye exam at no cost to those who are uninsured.
To be eligible for the Glaucoma program, you:
- Are a U.S. citizen or legal resident
- Do not belong to an HMO or have eye care benefits through the VA
- Have not had an eye exam in 12 months or more
- Are at increased risk for glaucoma, determined by your age, race, and family history of glaucoma
American Glaucoma Society Cares
American Glaucoma Society
655 Beach Street
San Francisco, CA 94109
Phone: (415) 561-8587
Fax: (415) 561-8531
Email: [email protected]
https://www.americanglaucomasociety.net/patients/ags-cares
AGS Cares is a public service program of the AGS Foundation that is dedicated to providing surgical glaucoma care at no cost to uninsured patients who qualify for such care. The glaucoma care is provided by members of a national network of volunteers comprising glaucoma surgeons who are AGS active or provisional members.
Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry
6110 Executive Boulevard, Suite 510
Rockville, Maryland 20852
Phone: (301) 231-5944
Fax: (301) 770-1828
www.opted.org
Many optometry schools offer low-cost care to people willing to be treated by supervised students. They may also provide free care to people who join research studies.
Foundation Fighting Blindness: My Retina Tracker® Program
blueprintgenetics.com/my-retina-tracker-program
The My Retina Tracker Program provides individuals with a clinical diagnosis of an inherited retinal degeneration (IRD) no-cost genetic testing and genetic counseling. This program is sponsored by the Foundation Fighting Blindness. Blueprint Genetics performs the genetic testing. After testing, you will receive genetic counseling from InformedDNA at no cost.
Genentech Access Solutions
Phone: (888) 249-4918 or
(866) 422-2377
Fax: (888) 249-4919
http://www.genentech-access.com/avastin/hcp
Genentech Access Solutions ssists patients who are concerned about access to Avastin (a drug treatment for AMD developed by Genentech) and assists them with health insurance coverage and reimbursement issues.
The HealthWell Foundation
P.O. Box 489
Buckeystown, MD 21717
Phone: (800) 675-8416
Fax: (800) 282-7692
www.healthwellfoundation.org
The HealthWell Foundation provides financial assistance to eligible individuals to cover co-insurance, co-payments, healthcare premiums and deductibles for certain treatments.
Good Days
6900 N. Dallas Parkway, Suite 200
Plano, TX 75024
Toll-free Patient Info: (877) 968-7233
Main: (972) 608-7141
Good Days povides financial support by covering prohibitively costly co-pays for those with life-altering conditions, allowing them to receive treatment without destroying their finances.
The Hill Burton Program
Health Resources and Services Administration
5600 Fishers Lane, Room 10C-16
Rockville, Maryland 20857
Phone: (800) 492-0359 (Maryland residents) (800) 638-0742
www.hrsa.gov/get-health-care/affordable/hill-burton/index.html
Participating hospitals and other healthcare facilities provide medical care for free, or at reduced cost, to those who meet eligibility requirements based on family size and income. Procedures covered vary from hospital to hospital. A list of assisting sites available in your state is located online.
InfantSEE
Optometry Cares
The Foundation of the American Optometric Association
243 N. Lindbergh Blvd., Floor 1
St. Louis, MO 63141
Phone: (888) 396-EYES (3937)
www.infantsee.org
InfantSEE optometrists provide a no-cost comprehensive eye and vision assessment for infants within the first year of life regardless of a family’s income or access to insurance coverage.
Lions Clubs International
300 22nd Street
Oak Brook, Illinois 60523
Phone: (630) 571-5466
(800) 747-4448
www.lionsclubs.org
Provides financial assistance to individuals for eye care through local clubs. On their website, go to “Find a Club” to locate your local club.
Lucentis® Access Solutions
Phone: (866) 724-9394 or (866) 422-2377
Fax: (866) 724-9412
[email protected]
www.genentech-access.com/lucentis/patients
Assists patients who are concerned about access to Lucentis (a drug treatment for AMD developed by Genentech) and assists them with health insurance coverage and reimbursement issues.
Medicaid
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21244
Phone: (877)267-2323
www.medicaid.gov
Information and assistance can be found at the Medicare.gov website and the individual state Medicaid websites (Go to the menu and select “State Resources”). Generally, the best place to start is the Medicaid office of your particular state. Most of the numbers listed here are for program issues and general questions and information.
Medicare
Medicare Contact Center
Operations
P.O. Box 1270
Lawrence, KS 66044
Phone: (800) MEDICARE (633-4227)
www.medicare.gov
Medicare beneficiaries, family members, and caregivers can visit Medicare.gov, the Official U.S. Government Site for People with Medicare, for the latest information on Medicare enrollment, benefits, and other helpful tools.
MEDICARE: Extra Help with Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs
https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/medicare/prescriptionhelp/.
Medicare beneficiaries can qualify for Extra Help with their Medicare prescription drug plan costs. The Extra Help is estimated to be worth about $5,000 per year. To qualify for the Extra Help, a person must be receiving Medicare, have limited resources and income, and reside in one of the 50 States or the District of Columbia. For further assistance with the program, visit the PAN Foundation website: https://www.panfoundation.org/extrahelp/.
NeedyMeds
Post Office Box 219
Gloucester, MA 01930
Phone: (978) 865-4115
Fax: (206) 260-8850
www.needymeds.com
They provide information obtained directly from the drug manufacturers regarding special programs to assist people who can’t afford to buy the drugs they need.
Mission Cataract USA
6716 N. Cedar Avenue
Suite 212
Fresno, California 93710
Phone: (800) 343-7265*
www.missioncataractusa.org
Coordinated by the Volunteer Eye Surgeon’s Association, it is a program for providing free cataract surgery to people of all ages who have no Medicare, Medicaid, third party insurance or any other means to pay for needed cataract surgery.
National Federation of the Blind
200 East Wells Street at Jernigan Place
Baltimore, Maryland 21230
Phone: (410) 659-9314
www.nfb.org
NFB works o improve social and economic conditions of blind persons by providing evaluations of present programs and assistance in establishing new ones; awards scholarships to blind persons; has a public education program including speakers’ bureau; and has several special interest divisions, including those for diabetics, educators, lawyers, parents of blind children, students and public employees. The National Federation of the Blind has affiliates in all fifty states plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico, and over seven hundred local chapters.
New Eyes for the Needy
549 Millburn Avenue
Post Office Box 332
Short Hills, NJ 07078
Phone: (973) 376-4903
Fax: (973) 376-3807
www.new-eyes.org
New Eyes provides a basic pair of single or lined bifocal lenses. A New Eyes voucher is for individuals who have no other resources with which to obtain a basic pair of eyeglasses. Applicants must have an eye exam including their pupilary distance (PD) measurement before applying.
OneSight’s Eyeglass Referral Program
Phone: (888) 935-4589
www.onesight.org
Through OneSight’s Eyeglass Referral Program, eligible patients can receive glasses free of charge. The patient should:
1. Have their visual and financial need verified by a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization (such as a school, church, Lions Club, Prevent Blindness, Red Cross, or United Way).
2. Obtain a referral letter from the nonprofit (letter should be on company letterhead and include the Tax ID# for the nonprofit).
3. Take the referral letter and referral card issued by the nonprofit as well as a valid prescription to a participating Luxottica Retail Location (LensCrafters, Target Optical, Sears Optical or Pearle Vision corporate store) to receive a pair of glasses at no charge.
4. If the patient does not already have a valid prescription (one that is less than 1 year old) he or she can ask if the onsite doctor at the optical retailer is able to donate an eye exam or they can reach out to Prevent Blindness for assistance.
Partnership for Prescription Assistance
1100 15th Street, Northwest
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (888) 477-2669
Fax: (202) 835-3414
www.pparx.org
This website is designed to help people find patient assistance programs for which they may qualify.
Patient Access Network Foundation
PO Box 221858
Charlotte, NC 28222
Phone: (866) 316-PANF (7263)
[email protected]
www.panfoundation.org
The Patient Access Network (PAN Foundation) is dedicated to helping people living with life-threatening, chronic and rare diseases with the out-of-pocket costs for their prescribed medications. PAN provides the underinsured population access to the healthcare treatments they need to best manage their conditions and focus on improving their quality of life.
Created by the PAN Foundation, FundFinder is a web-based app designed to help patients with life-threatening, chronic or rare diseases quickly find financial assistance. To learn more about FundFinder, visit: https://fundfinder.panfoundation.org.
Transportation Assistance
In addition, the PAN Foundation Transportation Assistance program provides financial support to patients with life-threatening, chronic, or rare conditions so they can access affordable and reliable transportation to and from their medical treatments and pharmacy. To learn more about the Transportation Assistance program, visit: https://www.panfoundation.org/funds/transportation.
ScriptHero
Phone: 1-866-747-4276
Email: [email protected]
https://go.scripthero.com/preventblindness
ScriptHero works by enabling individuals to shop their prescription for the lowest cash price and the most convenient pharmacy location within our nationwide network, all from the convenience of a phone, tablet or computer.
Translation and Telephonic Interpreting Services Program for Spanish-Speaking Patients with Graves and/or Thyroid Eye Disease
Bromberg & Associates
3141 Caniff Street
Hamtramck, MI 48212
Phone: (331) 871-0080
Fax: (888) 225-1912
Translation and Telephonic Interpreting Services – Bromberg & Horizon
Language should never be a barrier to seeking healthcare, education or important daily services. In an effort to eliminate language barriers, Bromberg & Associates has created a no-cost program, sponsored by Horizon Therapeutics, to offer translation and telephonic interpretation for Spanish-speaking individuals and families impacted by specific health conditions, including Graves and/or Thyroid Eye Disease. If you or your family member has been diagnosed with either, you qualify for document translation and interpreting services by telephone by the Bromberg & Associates team at no-cost. This program will offer Spanish speaking families the ability to get connected with translation &/or interpretation services for whatever their needs are (healthcare related or other), at no cost. The one-pager found at the above link lays out the basics of the program:
- Program will be available to any families impacted by Horizon supported disease communities and beyond.
- Bromberg will require HIPPA to be signed before services are offered.
- No proof of medical or financial need to qualify.
- Horizon has no say in who will get services and receives NO patient identifying data on who participates.
- Spanish is the only available language right now. Other languages may be considered in the future.
VSP® Eyes of Hope®, Sight for Students®, and Eyes of Hope® Materials Only
Phone: (800) 877-7195
giftcertificates.vspeyesofhope.com
VSP® Eyes of Hope® and Sight for Students gift certificates provide adults and children in need (families’ income is at or below 200% of the federal poverty level) with access to eye care and new glasses (if needed) at no cost through a VSP network doctor in their community. VSP® Eyes of Hope® Materials Only gift certificates provide individuals who have coverage for an eye exam but not eyewear with no-cost prescription glasses. Contact your local Prevent Blindness affiliate or Prevent Blindness for more details.
