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7.1. Needy Meds

Needy Medsis a  501(c)(3) non-profit information resource devoted to helping people in need find assistance programs to help them afford their medications and costs related to health care. NeedyMeds was founded in 1997 by Richard Sagall, MD and Libby Overly, MSW when Libby was working as a medical social worker in a rural Mississippi. She developed a database of PAP information to help her meet the needs of her clients. When she described this database to Rich, a friend with a medical practice in Bangor, Maine, he conceptualized making the information available on the Internet to make it available to more people. This was the beginning of NeedyMeds.

NeedyMeds' mission is to be the best source of accurate, comprehensive and up-to-date information on programs that help people facing problems paying for medications and health care; to assist those in need in applying to programs; and to provide health-related education using innovative methods.

NeedyMeds is funded by small grants, donations, sponsorships, subscriptions to PAPTracker, and syndication of various database information. NeedyMeds also works with the patient assistance programs of several pharmaceutical distributors.

The NeedyMeds Brochure is available to organizations that assist people who need help paying for their medicine.

Our monthly e-newsletter, Vitals, formerly known as Patient Assistance News (PAN), is available free by subscription.  In Vitals, we highlight issues and resources that will be of interest to patient advocates and other healthcare providers. We often feature nonprofits and other organizations that have dedicated their resources to helping others.