• Patient assistance programs in Arizona help with the cost of healthcare.medicine image by dinostock from Fotolia.com
  
  Arizona residents that are looking for assistance in buying prescription drugs and other health services are in luck: The state of Arizona has numerous patient-assistance programs in effect. Among the most prominent are the Arizona CoppeRx card, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) and the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP).
  
  

Arizona CoppeRx Card

• The most obvious advantage of the CoppeRx discount card is that every resident of Arizona is eligible for it--yes, everyone--and moreover, it's absolutely free and applies to every type of prescription medication. The only restrictions are where you get the medication from, and even then the card is good at more than 500 pharmacies statewide. Discounts range from 15 percent (average for a brand name at retail) to 55 percent (a generic name from mail order). The CoppeRx card never expires, and even those on a Medicare Part D plan can use it. The card is not a substitute for insurance but provides obvious benefits for any Arizona resident.
  
  

Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS)

• Arizona's agency for Medicaid, the AHCCCS, provides health insurance programs for Arizonans who can't afford other private insurance. There are eligibility and income requirements, but those who qualify do not have to pay monthly premiums. There are special programs in place specifically for Native Americans like the American Indian Health Program (AIHP), and for children such as the KidsCare Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). KidsCare is a program for families whose income is too high to qualify for other AHCCCS family insurance and covers children at a low monthly premium.
  
  

AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP)

• The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Modernization Act of 2006 led to the creation of ADAP, in which the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHP) provides medication treatment for low-income Arizona residents with HIV disease. There are some eligibility requirements: income must fall within 300 percent of the poverty line and applicants must not be eligible for private insurance or AHCCCS. ADAP provides dozens of types of life-saving HIV medications.