- The PAF Co-Pay Relief Program, one of the self-contained divisions of PAF, provides direct financial assistance to insured patients who meet certain qualifications to help them pay for the prescriptions and/or treatments they need.
- Below is an up-to-date list of the assistance available for each cancer diagnosis (this may change depending on available funding, so please check back for current status). Select an open fund below to view eligibility criteria. Contact us with any questions at 866-55-COPAY (866-552-6729) or information@cancercarecopay.org.
COVID-19 Vaccine Coverage Regardless of Insurance Status
Medical Debt Relief American Rescue Plan: Copayment Cancellations and Refunds. Due to the passage of the American Rescue Plan in March 2021, copayments for medical care and prescriptions provided by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) during the period of April 6.
All organizations and providers participating in the CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Program (which currently includes any provider administering COVID-19 vaccine):
- Must administer COVID-19 vaccine regardless of the vaccine recipient's ability to pay COVID-19 vaccine administration fees or coverage status
- May seek appropriate reimbursement from a program or plan that covers COVID-19 Vaccine administration fees for the vaccine recipient such as:
- vaccine recipient’s private insurance company
- Medicare or Medicaid reimbursement
- HRSA COVID-19 Uninsured Program for non-insured vaccine recipients
- May not seek any reimbursement, including through balance billing, from the vaccine recipient. (As such, regardless of insurance status, providers cannot charge patients for the COVID-19 vaccine or administration of the COVID-19 vaccine).
- May not charge an office visit or other fee if COVID-19 vaccination is the sole medical service provided
- May not require patients seek additional medical services to receive COVID-19 vaccination
If you experience or witness any potential violations of these requirements report them to the Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, by calling 1-800-HHS-TIPS or the website TIPS.HHS.GOV.
If you have insurance
Private insurers generally must waive an insurance plan member's cost-sharing payments for COVID-19 diagnostic testing and certain related items and services as well as COVID-19 vaccine administration.
Some private insurers, including Humana, Cigna, UnitedHealth Group, and the Blue Cross Blue Shield system, have agreed to waive cost-sharing payments for COVID-19 treatment for insured patients.
If a patient has insurance and seeks COVID-19 treatment from an out-of-network provider that has received General or Targeted Distributions from the Provider Relief Fund, the provider has agreed not to seek to collect out-of-pocket payments greater than what the patient would have otherwise been required to pay if the care had been provided by an in-network provider.
Learn more about coverage requirement.
If you do not have insurance
If you are uninsured and receive COVID-19-related testing, and/or treatment, or vaccine administration services, your provider may have submitted a claim to the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) for reimbursement of these services. Providers who participate in and are reimbursed from the HRSA COVID-19 Uninsured Program are not allowed to 'balance bill' individuals who do not have health care coverage (uninsured), and in this case you should not have been billed.
If you were charged for COVID-19 testing, vaccine administration and/or treatment services and the bill shows HRSA reimbursement for those services, please contact your health care provider to discuss how best to resolve payment of your bill. If you already paid that bill, please note that provider may be required to return those funds to you. Any money collected from patients must be returned if the provider received funding for that patient through the HRSA program. (If your provider has questions they can visit the HRSA COVID-19 Uninsured Program site)
Please note that if your provider didn't submit a bill for your COVID-19-related testing and/or treatment to the HRSA COVID-19 Uninsured Program or the care was not eligible for reimbursement from the program, you may be responsible for full payment of the bill. Please be reminded however that providers participating in the CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Program (which currently includes any provider administering COVID-19 vaccine) still cannot charge you, regardless of insurance status, for the COVID-19 vaccine or administration of the COVID-19 vaccine. If a consumer has a complaint, they can contact the HHS OIG hotline at 1-800-HHS-TIPS or TIPS.HHS.GOV.
Immigration status is not a required field for claims processing in the HRSA COVID-19 Uninsured Program. While social security number (SSN), state of residence or driver's license are requested fields for the HRSA Uninsured Program, if a provider is unable to include this information, it will not disqualify claims for reimbursement as long as providers attest that they attempted to gain this information from their patient. These pieces of information are requested, but not required information and they are used solely to help determine program eligibility, in other words confirming that the patient didn't have any health coverage. By law, the HRSA Uninsured Program can only reimburse for eligible COVID-19 related services to uninsured individuals.
If you're struggling because of life situations like losing your job, having a sudden decrease in income, or having an increase in out-of-pocket family health care expenses, we can help. You can request financial hardship assistance to manage your current VA copay debt or request an exemption from future copays.
Update on copayments during COVID-19 pandemic
We’re canceling and refunding copayments for the following benefits:
- All medical care received through VA between April 6, 2020, and September 30, 2021
- All prescription medications received through VA between April 6, 2020, and September 30, 2021
What can I do if I can't afford to pay my current VA copay debt?
You can request either of the 2 financial hardship assistance options below, depending on your situation. To avoid late charges, including interest and other fees, you'll need to take action within 30 days of receiving your bill.
Option 1: Set up a repayment plan to pay your debt over time
If you can't pay your copay debt all at once, you can set up a monthly repayment plan at any time. We'll review your proposed payment plan based on the amount of debt you owe and your ability to pay within a reasonable time. We usually require you to pay off the full debt within 3 years.
To set up a repayment plan:
Fill out an Agreement to Pay Indebtedness (VA Form 1100).
In paragraph 1A, tell us how much you can pay each month.
Submit your completed form and any other needed documentation to us.
You can send these by mail, or bring them in person, to the business office or health administration office at your nearest VA medical center.
Once we approve your repayment plan, begin sending your monthly payments.
If you receive a coupon book with your approved repayment plan, please send payments to the address on the coupon. You can also make a payment by mail or in person at your VA medical center's revenue office.
Note: Repayment plans don't include new charges you may receive after submitting your proposed plan. If you submit your plan and then receive a bill with new charges, please submit a new VA Form 1100 for the new charges. If you keep receiving new charges, please call us at 866-400-1238 every 90 days to request a new repayment plan. We're here Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET. If you have hearing loss, call TTY: 711.
Option 2: Request debt relief for some or all of your copay debt
If you don't think you can pay your debt with a monthly repayment plan, you can request debt relief for all or part of your balance. You can request a waiver (asking us to stop collection action on the debt), write-off (asking us to cancel the debt), or compromise (asking us to accept a lower amount of money as full payment of the debt). If we grant part or all of your request, you won't have to pay the amount of the balance we agree to relieve.
To request debt relief:
Fill out a Financial Status Report (VA Form 5655).
Write a letter explaining why you're requesting debt relief.
The letter should describe the financial issues that make it hard for you to pay your copay debt. You also have the right to request a hearing to explain your request. We’ll send you notice about the date, time, and place where we’ll hold the hearing.
Submit your completed form and letter to us.
You can send these by mail, or bring them in person, to the business office or health administration office at your nearest VA medical center.
If you need more information or help with filling out your forms, please call us at 866-400-1238. We're here Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET.
Co Pay Relief Assistance Program
What can I do if my income has decreased and I won't be able to pay future copays?
You may be eligible for a hardship determination, which would qualify you for a copay exemption. This means we'll assign you to a higher priority group, and you won't have to pay any VA copays for the rest of the calendar year.
To request a VA hardship determination and copay exemption:
Fill out a Request for Hardship Determination (VA Form 10-10HS).
Write a letter explaining why you're requesting a hardship determination.
The letter should describe the financial issues that make it hard for you to pay your copays.
Submit your completed form and letter to us.
You can send these by mail, or bring them in person, to the business office or health administration office at your nearest VA medical center.
Note: A hardship copay exemption doesn't apply to copays for pharmacy medications.
If you need more information or help with filling out your forms, please call us at 866-400-1238. We're here Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET.
Other information you may need
Co Pay Relief Programs
Dispute your copay charges
If you disagree with the charges or amounts on your copay bill, find out how to file a dispute.
Copay rates
View our current copay rates for different services and medication.
Update your health benefits information (VA Form 10-10EZR)
Update your personal, financial, or insurance information after you’re enrolled in the VA health care program.
Your health care costs
Learn how we assess and verify your income to help determine if you're eligible for VA health care and whether you'll need to pay copays for certain types of care, tests, and medications.