Where Indianapolis Residents Can Get Help Paying for Prescriptions They Can't Afford
A locally-reported guide to 340B pharmacies, Eskenazi's sliding-scale benefit, manufacturer assistance programs, and what to do the day you lose coverage — organized by situation, not alphabetical …
A locally-reported guide to 340B pharmacies, Eskenazi’s sliding-scale benefit, manufacturer assistance programs, and what to do the day you lose coverage — organized by situation, not alphabetical order.
This guide is for four types of Indianapolis readers: someone who just lost insurance and needs a prescription filled this week; someone who’s been uninsured long-term and is managing chronic conditions on an improvised budget; someone who has insurance but a deductible high enough that they’re effectively paying cash for most of the year; and a veteran who isn’t enrolled in VA care and doesn’t know what’s available. If you’re reading this in October or November, you’re in ACA open enrollment — which means you may be between plans, underinsured on a plan that’s about to change, or finally motivated to sort this out before winter. This is a good time to do exactly that.
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If You Lost Coverage This Week, Start Here
Speed matters. Here’s the ranked list.
Walk into any Walmart or Meijer in the Indianapolis metro. Both maintain in-house generic drug lists — $4 for a 30-day supply, $10 for 90 days — that require no application, no insurance, no account, and no wait. These lists include metformin, lisinopril, amlodipine, atorvastatin, sertraline, and other high-volume chronic-disease drugs. You pay at the counter and walk out. There is no faster option.
If the drug you need isn’t on those lists, download GoodRx before you leave the house and use it at any Indianapolis chain — Walgreens, CVS, Kroger, Meijer, Walmart, or Costco. GoodRx is a same-day discount code on generics. Free to use, works today.
If you’re on a stable generic regimen and can wait five to seven days, Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs (costplusdrugs.com) ships 90-day supplies of generics like metformin and sertraline for $4–$7.
What these three options cannot solve: brand-name drugs, specialty medications, controlled substances, and patients managing multiple chronic conditions whose total monthly cost adds up to real money even at generic prices. If that’s you, the sections below are where you’ll find the actual answer. The real limitations of GoodRx — and where it fails — are detailed later in this guide.
The 340B Program — Which Marion County Pharmacies Participate and Who Qualifies
The 340B Drug Pricing Program requires drug manufacturers to sell outpatient medications to qualifying health care organizations at significantly reduced prices — typically well below retail, and dramatically so on some drugs. Most patients don’t know this part: a hospital participating in 340B does not automatically pass those savings to you at the pharmacy window. The institution captures the discount. Whether it flows through depends entirely on how that organization structures its pharmacy operation.
In Marion County, the covered entities most likely to deliver actual patient-facing savings are Eskenazi Health, HealthNet Inc., and Raphael Health Center.
Eskenazi is the county’s safety-net hospital and structures its pharmacy benefit specifically for low-income patients. It’s covered in detail in the next section.
HealthNet Inc. operates multiple Indianapolis locations and is a Federally Qualified Health Center — by statute a 340B covered entity, designed to serve uninsured and low-income patients. HealthNet has clinics on the near-eastside, near-westside, and in Haughville. If you’re a HealthNet patient, 340B pricing is already part of what you’re accessing. Raphael Health Center on the near-eastside is another FQHC with 340B coverage. Smaller and less visible in search results than HealthNet, but a legitimate resource for patients in that corridor.
IU Health and Community Health Network both participate in 340B at the institutional level. Neither is a safety-net pharmacy operation. IU Health outpatient pharmacies have no publicly documented income-based discount program for uninsured patients comparable to Eskenazi’s. Community has a financial assistance program for patients who can’t pay, but it’s not a pharmacy discount benefit. If you’re uninsured and hoping either system will help you the way Eskenazi will, manage your expectations — and call before you go.
One more thing worth knowing: since 2020, drug manufacturers have imposed restrictions on “contract pharmacies,” the arrangement that once let covered entities extend 340B pricing to retail chains. Those restrictions have significantly narrowed access. The reliable path to 340B savings now runs through the covered entity’s own pharmacy, not through a chain that may have had a contract arrangement in the past. The three entities above — Eskenazi, HealthNet, Raphael — have on-site pharmacies where you’re most likely to see the benefit. You don’t need to know you’re using 340B. You just need to be a patient at the right place.
How Eskenazi Health’s Pharmacy Benefit Actually Works
Eskenazi’s pharmacy benefit is one of the most underreported prescription resources in our health & wellness coverage of Indianapolis. I mean that genuinely — most people who would qualify for it have never heard of it. Its value also goes well beyond the drug discount itself.
To access it, you must be an established Eskenazi patient. If you’re not, you can establish care by calling Eskenazi’s main line or presenting at one of its community health center locations. The benefit runs on an income-based sliding scale. Patients below 200% of the federal poverty level see the deepest discounts. Documentation is typically required: recent pay stubs, government-issued ID, proof of address. Eskenazi’s financial counselors walk patients through this in a single visit — and that visit does more than enroll you in a pharmacy discount.
Eskenazi’s on-site counselors screen you for Medicaid eligibility, ACA Marketplace plans, and pharmacy assistance all at once. If you walk in uninsured, you may walk out enrolled in Medicaid, which solves the prescription cost problem altogether. If you don’t qualify for Medicaid, the pharmacy discount remains in place. One appointment, potentially two problems solved.
The other thing that sets Eskenazi apart: pharmacy staff, particularly in the behavioral health pharmacy, initiate manufacturer patient assistance program applications on behalf of patients. This is a documented, active service — not something you have to push for or even know to ask about. For patients on psychiatric medications, antidepressants, or mood stabilizers, this matters more than most people realize. The biggest practical barrier to manufacturer PAPs is the application process itself: paperwork, documentation, coordinating with a prescriber. Eskenazi staff do that work for patients. If you’re uninsured and on quetiapine, aripiprazole, or a brand-name antidepressant, this is the resource that may actually get you access to it.
The Eskenazi Health pharmacy is located on the main campus at 720 Eskenazi Avenue. For patients without a car, IndyGo Route 8 and Route 37 both serve the campus — check indygo.net for current schedules.
HealthNet and Other FQHCs — The Sliding-Scale Pharmacy Network
If the Eskenazi campus isn’t your closest or most convenient option, enrolling at a neighborhood Federally Qualified Health Center is the fastest path to consistent, income-adjusted pharmacy access in Indianapolis.
FQHCs are federally required to serve patients regardless of ability to pay. They operate on sliding-scale fees, they’re 340B covered entities by law, and they offer primary care — meaning you’re not just solving a prescription problem, you’re establishing a relationship with a care team that can manage your chronic conditions over time. For readers managing diabetes, hypertension, or mental health conditions, that distinction matters. The prescription is one piece of a larger picture.
HealthNet Inc. is the primary FQHC network in Indianapolis, with locations across the near-eastside, near-westside, and Haughville corridor. Confirm current locations and hours directly with HealthNet — clinic sites can change. To access the pharmacy benefit, you must be a HealthNet patient. The enrollment process involves a visit, income documentation, and establishing a care relationship. Uninsured patients qualify for reduced-cost care and pharmacy access. Call the main line to ask about same-week enrollment appointments.
Raphael Health Center on the near-eastside serves a different part of the city and is also an FQHC with 340B coverage. Smaller than HealthNet, but more accessible for readers in that corridor than making a trip to the Eskenazi campus. Confirm current contact information and hours before you go.
If Eskenazi is your established care site, stay there — the behavioral health pharmacy service described above is genuinely different from anything else in the county. If you’re currently uninsured with no established provider, call both HealthNet and Eskenazi for new patient appointments. Whichever gets you in first establishes the care relationship that opens pharmacy access.
GoodRx in Indianapolis — What It’s Actually Good For and When to Skip It
GoodRx works at every major Indianapolis chain pharmacy: Walgreens, CVS, Kroger, Meijer, Walmart, and Costco. Present the coupon or app code at the counter, pay the discounted cash price. No application, no income requirement, works on generics at any of these locations today.
One thing that surprises people: prices vary by $40 or more on the same drug between Indianapolis locations. A 30-day supply of a common generic might price out at $18 at a Walgreens on the northside and $11 at a Kroger on the southside for no apparent reason. Check two or three locations in the app before filling. The variation is real and worth 60 seconds.
Costco Pharmacy — with locations in Castleton and Avon — is worth checking before you apply GoodRx at all. Costco’s baseline cash pricing on generics is often competitive with or better than other chains’ GoodRx prices, particularly on high-volume medications. You don’t need a Costco membership to use the pharmacy. A lot of people don’t know that.
At Walmart specifically: if the drug is on their $4/$10 in-house list, use the list, not GoodRx. The list wins.
GoodRx cannot be stacked with insurance. If you have any active coverage, you cannot use GoodRx to supplement it at the same transaction. No exceptions.
For an uninsured patient managing one or two stable generic prescriptions, GoodRx works as a legitimate long-term tool. For a patient on multiple chronic medications, any brand-name drugs, or specialty medications, the savings from GoodRx will be outpaced by what’s available through Eskenazi, HealthNet’s 340B pricing, or a manufacturer assistance program. GoodRx is an excellent bridge. It is not a solution for patients with serious medication cost burdens.
Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs — What Indianapolis Patients Should Know
Cost Plus Drugs (costplusdrugs.com) is a mail-order pharmacy that prices medications at manufacturer cost plus a 15% markup, a $3 dispensing fee, and $5 shipping. The math on common medications is striking: metformin 500mg, 90-day supply, roughly $4–$5. Lisinopril 10mg, 90 days, around $4. Sertraline 50mg, 90 days, around $7. Amlodipine 5mg, 90 days, approximately $4. These are among the highest-volume prescriptions in Indiana. If you’ve been paying $40 a month for metformin at a chain pharmacy, that’s worth sitting with for a moment.
What Cost Plus can’t do: brand-name drugs, controlled substances, same-day fills. This is mail-order. Assume five to seven days from order to delivery. If you’re out of medication today, Cost Plus is not your first call.
There’s no brick-and-mortar Cost Plus location in Indianapolis. The service is online only. Some retail pharmacy partnerships have been announced nationally; none are confirmed in the Indianapolis area currently. Check costplusdrugs.com for updates.
An uninsured Indianapolis patient who’s stable on a small number of generics, has a prescriber who can send an e-prescription to Cost Plus, and wants to stop playing the GoodRx roulette wheel at chain pharmacies will likely find Cost Plus the lowest ongoing cost available outside of a 340B pharmacy relationship.
Manufacturer Patient Assistance Programs — Which Ones Are Worth Applying to From Indianapolis
An alphabetical list of every pharmaceutical manufacturer’s PAP is not useful. Here’s a prioritized breakdown based on drug class, Indiana-specific relevance, and realistic approval timelines.
Insulin: The Highest-Stakes Local Story
Eli Lilly is headquartered in Indianapolis at 893 S. Delaware St. This makes insulin assistance the highest-priority PAP story for Marion County residents — and it’s one of the few cases where having a major pharmaceutical company in your backyard actually translates into something tangible for patients.
Lilly Insulin Value Program: $35 per month per insulin product, available at the pharmacy counter with no application, no income requirement, no wait. Present a card (available through Lilly’s patient assistance resources) at any participating pharmacy. Fastest insulin assistance available anywhere.
Lilly Cares Foundation serves uninsured patients below 400% of the federal poverty level who need broader coverage than the $35 cap provides. Given Lilly’s Indianapolis presence and the program’s maturity, processing typically runs two to four weeks from a complete application — faster than comparable programs at other manufacturers.
Novo Nordisk Patient Assistance Program covers Ozempic, Levemir, Victoza, Tresiba, and other Novo products for patients with income below 400% FPL who are uninsured or underinsured. Timeline is three to six weeks from a complete application. A specific note on Ozempic: supply and access complications have affected this drug’s PAP availability. Confirm current status directly with Novo Nordisk before building a plan around it.
Mental Health Medications
Psychiatric medications are disproportionately brand-name or recently off-patent, which makes them expensive and often excluded from generic discount lists. The practical answer for Indianapolis residents on psychiatric medications: if you’re an Eskenazi patient or can become one, the behavioral health pharmacy team initiates PAP applications on your behalf. This is the standard workflow for uninsured behavioral health patients at Eskenazi — not a favor you have to ask for. The documentation burden falls on staff, not on you.
For patients not connected to Eskenazi’s behavioral health program: AbbVie Patient Assistance Foundation covers Vraylar and other AbbVie psychiatric medications, with an income threshold below 600% FPL. Janssen CarePath covers Risperdal Consta, Invega products, and other Janssen atypical antipsychotics, typically two to four weeks. Pfizer RxPathways processes applications in approximately two to three weeks from complete submission for patients below 400% FPL without insurance coverage. Search each program’s application directly on the manufacturer’s website.
Blood Pressure and Common Chronic Disease Medications
First-line blood pressure generics — lisinopril, amlodipine, metoprolol, hydrochlorothiazide — are almost never worth a PAP application. The Walmart $4 list, Cost Plus Drugs, and GoodRx will get you there faster, with no wait. Save PAP applications for drugs that are genuinely expensive. A PAP for lisinopril is a waste of four weeks. Seriously.
On Timelines
Every PAP requires roughly two to six weeks from a complete application to your first supply. If you’re out of medication now, you need the bridge options covered earlier while the application processes. Eskenazi’s pharmacy team, if they’re initiating your PAP, will typically bridge you through samples or alternative approaches during this window — another reason that relationship has practical value beyond the discount itself.
Veterans in Indianapolis — The HVAF Program and What It Covers
Two different veteran populations need different information here.
If you’re enrolled in VA healthcare, use the Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center pharmacy at 1481 W. 10th St. on Indianapolis’s westside. For medications on the VA formulary, copays run $0–$11 depending on your service-connected disability rating and income. Straightforward benefit, already yours.
If you’re not enrolled in VA care — or not sure whether you qualify — HVAF of Indiana (Helping Veterans and Families) provides prescription assistance and pharmacy navigation services. HVAF is nearly invisible in standard search results for prescription help in Indianapolis, which is a genuine problem given what it actually offers. Contact HVAF directly to confirm current location, hours, and whether walk-in appointments are accepted — the organization has moved services in recent years, and operational details should be verified before you make a trip.
Here’s something worth knowing before you assume you don’t qualify for VA care: VA eligibility is broader than most veterans believe, particularly for those who served during specific conflict periods, have any service-connected condition, or fall below certain income thresholds. Many veterans rule themselves out prematurely. If HVAF’s prescription navigation leads you to VA enrollment, you’ve solved the problem at the coverage level — not just for one prescription, but for your entire healthcare relationship. That call to HVAF is the most efficient first step for any uninsured Indianapolis veteran. If you’re also comparing your broader healthcare options across Indianapolis systems, which Indianapolis health system you should actually use is a useful companion read.
Quick Reference by Situation
You just lost insurance and need a prescription filled today: Walmart or Meijer $4/$10 generic list, no application required. GoodRx at any chain pharmacy for generics not on those lists. Call Eskenazi to start establishing care while you bridge.
You’ve been uninsured long-term and manage chronic conditions: Enroll at Eskenazi Health or a HealthNet FQHC. Both operate on income-based sliding scales with on-site pharmacies and 340B pricing. Eskenazi’s financial counselors also screen for Medicaid and Marketplace eligibility — you may qualify for coverage you didn’t know about. Cost Plus Drugs for any stable generic regimens in the meantime.
You have insurance with a high deductible and hit it early in the year: GoodRx may beat your insurance cash price while you’re in-deductible — compare before filling. Check whether your plan has a preventive drug exemption for generics. Manufacturer copay assistance programs (distinct from PAPs, and available even with insurance) exist for many brand-name drugs. Pfizer, AbbVie, Eli Lilly, and Novo Nordisk all offer copay programs; search the manufacturer’s website for the specific drug.
You’re on insulin in any coverage situation: Lilly Insulin Value Program, $35/month at the pharmacy counter, no application, works today for Lilly products. Novo Nordisk PAP for non-Lilly insulin products, three to six weeks.
You’re on a psychiatric or specialty medication with no coverage: Become an Eskenazi behavioral health patient. Staff initiate PAP applications on your behalf. That is the practical path. Otherwise: Pfizer RxPathways (two to three weeks), AbbVie Foundation, Janssen CarePath for specific drugs.
You’re a veteran without VA enrollment: Contact HVAF of Indiana. They’ll help you determine VA eligibility — which may solve this at the coverage level, not just the prescription level.
You’re on stable generics and want the lowest possible ongoing cost: Cost Plus Drugs for mail-order. Walmart’s $4/$10 list for in-store. Costco Pharmacy in Castleton or Avon for competitive baseline pricing on a wider formulary.
If you’re reading this in October or November, ACA open enrollment is underway — check healthcare.gov for current dates. Eskenazi’s financial counselors can walk you through Marketplace eligibility in the same visit where they enroll you in the pharmacy benefit. One appointment this fall and you may have actual coverage in January, not just a discount card. That’s a meaningfully different situation than where you started.
