Free-medicine income limits at 16 drugmakers run from $39,900 to $150,000 for one person
Most programmes use 300%, 400% or 500% of the poverty level, but J&J still prices its 2026 limit off the 2025 guideline, Genentech uses a flat dollar line, and three publish no figure at all.
A single person earning $55,000 in 2026 (345% of the federal poverty guideline) is under the published free-medicine income limit at 5 of 16 drugmakers, over it at 7, depends on the medicine at Lilly, and cannot check it at the 3 that publish no figure; the published one-person limits run from $39,900 at Boehringer Ingelheim to under $150,000 at Genentech, a 3.8x spread.
Method: each limit read from the drugmaker's own eligibility page or form, converted with the HHS 2026 guideline. How we built this · the full tableQuick answer: what income qualifies for free medicine in 2026?
For one person in the 48 contiguous states, 2026:
- Most drugmaker free-medicine programmes use 300%, 400% or 500% of the federal poverty level: $47,880, $63,840 or $79,800 a year (HHS 2026 guideline of $15,960).
- Pfizer, GSK, Amgen and AZ&Me stop at $47,880 (300%). Johnson & Johnson stops lower, at $46,950, because its 2026 table is 300% of the 2025 guideline.
- Sanofi, Novartis and AbbVie go to $63,840 (400%). Merck goes to $79,800 for KEYTRUDA. Lilly Cares sets the limit by medicine group, from $47,880 to $79,800.
- Genentech uses a flat dollar limit: under $150,000 for a household of one to four if you are uninsured or your plan does not cover the medicine.
- Novo Nordisk, Gilead and DUPIXENT MyWay state no figure on their own pages, so you ask them directly.
Check your own household in two minutes with the OmniRx assistance finder, which now screens with the same limits as this page. Programme limits change each January when HHS updates the poverty guideline, and approval is never guaranteed by meeting the income line alone.
What income limit does each drugmaker's free-medicine programme use in 2026?
The drugmaker programmes below give medicine free to people who meet their income and insurance rules. The table converts every published dollar limit to a share of the 2026 poverty guideline so the programmes can be compared on one scale.
| Programme | One person | % of 2026 FPL | Basis | Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnson & Johnson Patient Assistance Program | $46,950 | 294% | dollars (300% of the 2025 guideline) $63,450 for two | source 2026-10-19 |
| Pfizer RxPathways (Pfizer Patient Assistance Program) | $47,880 | 300% | 300% FPL | source 2026-10-19 |
| GSK Patient Assistance Program | $47,880 | 300% | 300% FPL $64,920 for two | source 2026-10-19 |
| Amgen Safety Net Foundation | $47,880 | 300% | 300% FPL, no insurance must have no insurance coverage | source 2026-10-19 |
| AZ&Me (AstraZeneca) | $47,880 | 300% | 300% FPL 500% for the rare disease medicine Wainua | source 2026-10-19 |
| Bristol Myers Squibb Patient Assistance Foundation | $47,880 | 300% | dollars, for Eliquis no displayed cap for BMS cancer medicines | source 2026-10-13 |
| Lilly Cares Foundation | $79,800 | 500% | 300% / 400% / 500% FPL by medicine group Group 1 $47,880; Group 2 $63,840; Groups 3 and 4 $79,800 | source 2026-10-19 |
| Sanofi Patient Connection | $63,840 | 400% | 400% FPL $86,560 for two | source 2026-10-19 |
| Novartis Patient Assistance Foundation | $63,840 | 400% | dollars (about 400% FPL) figure from the NPAF eligibility tool | source 2026-10-13 |
| Merck Helps (Merck Patient Assistance Program) | $79,800 | 500% | dollars by medicine KEYTRUDA $79,800; JANUVIA and JANUMET $63,840 | source 2026-10-19 |
| myAbbVie Assist | $63,840 | 400% | dollars (400% of the 2026 guideline) $86,560 for two | source 2026-10-29 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim Cares Foundation | $39,900 | 250% | 250% FPL (200% for the Respimat inhalers) no new Medicare Part D enrollments for primary care medicines since 15 Oct 2026 | source 2026-10-29 |
| Genentech Patient Foundation | under $150,000 | 940% | flat dollars, households of 1 to 4 under $150,000 if uninsured or not covered | source 2026-10-19 |
| Novo Nordisk Patient Assistance Program | not published | n/a | states no figure | source |
| Gilead Advancing Access | not published | n/a | publishes no figure | source |
| DUPIXENT MyWay (Regeneron and Sanofi) | not published | n/a | case by case | source |
Percentages are our calculation against the 2026 guideline of $15,960 for one person and rounded to the nearest point. Alaska and Hawaii use higher guidelines ($19,950 and $18,360 for one person), and several programmes print separate figures for them.
Why can the same household qualify at one company and not another?
Drugmaker programmes qualify the same household differently because each sets its own multiple of the poverty level, and three of them do not use a single multiple at all. Pfizer, GSK, Amgen and AZ&Me hold the common 300% line. Sanofi, Novartis and AbbVie use about 400%, and Boehringer Ingelheim uses 250%, or 200% for its Respimat inhalers. Merck and Lilly Cares price the limit by medicine, so a cancer medicine carries a higher limit than a diabetes tablet from the same company.
Johnson & Johnson's $46,950 is the clearest case of drift. The J&J quick reference guide calls its table the "2026 Program Income Limit" and describes it as 300% of the poverty level, but $46,950 is exactly 300% of the 2025 guideline of $15,650. A single person earning between $46,951 and $47,880 therefore clears the 300% line at Pfizer and GSK and misses it at J&J by up to $930.
Genentech is the outlier at the other end. The Genentech Patient Foundation states a flat "total yearly income is under $150,000" for a household of one to four if you have no insurance or your plan does not cover the medicine, which is about 940% of the guideline for one person and still generous for a family of four.
Which programmes publish no limit, and what do you do then?
Three of the 16 drugmaker programmes we checked state no income figure on their own pages. Novo Nordisk's page says only that you need "a total household income that qualifies" (read 29 October 2026), and no percentage appears on its product list or application. Gilead publishes no poverty-level threshold for Advancing Access. DUPIXENT MyWay says it "reviews your situation and evaluates eligibility on a case-by-case basis."
An unpublished limit is not a reason to skip the programme. Call, give your household size and gross income, and ask the questions on the card below before you spend an afternoon on paperwork. The assistance finder now shows these three as "limit not published" instead of guessing a percentage, so it never tells you that you match a figure that does not exist.
1. What is your income limit for a household of [number] people in [state] this year, in dollars? 2. Is that gross income or adjusted gross income, and is it household or individual? 3. Does the limit differ for [medicine name] from your other medicines? 4. Does my insurance (none / employer / Marketplace / Medicare Part D / Medicaid) change whether I can apply? 5. What proof of income do you need, and how long does a decision take?
Does having Medicare or private insurance change the limit?
Insurance changes who can apply more than it changes the dollar line. The Amgen Safety Net Foundation application says you must have no insurance coverage. Novo Nordisk asks Medicare beneficiaries who may be eligible for Extra Help for a denial letter, Boehringer Ingelheim stopped accepting new Medicare Part D patients for its primary care medicines on 15 October 2026, and Johnson & Johnson applies the same Extra Help (Low-Income Subsidy) step to Part D patients at or below 150%. Merck says people who do not meet its insurance criteria can request an exception if their income meets the programme criteria and they face special financial and medical hardship. Genentech has a separate route for insured patients whose out-of-pocket costs exceed 7.5% of income, with a lower limit of under $75,000 for one person.
If you have Medicare and a low income, check Medicare Extra Help first: it covers income up to $23,940 for one person in 2026 and is the step several drugmakers require before they will look at you.
Who can use a manufacturer copay card?
Copay cards are a different product from free-medicine programmes: they pay part of a commercially insured patient's cost share and are closed to government insurance. Every card below excludes Medicare and Medicaid in its own terms.
| Card | Pays | Yearly cap stated | Excludes |
|---|---|---|---|
| XOLAIR Co-pay Program | as little as $0 for the drug | $15,000 drug + $1,500 injection | Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medigap, Medicaid, VA, DoD, TRICARE |
| FABHALTA Co-Pay Plus | as little as $0 | $20,000 + $1,000 vaccines | Medicare, Medicaid, any federal or state programme |
| VANRAFIA Co-Pay Plus | as little as $0 | up to $15,000 | Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, VA, DoD, other federal or state |
| IBRANCE savings card | as little as $0 | $4,000 to $10,000 | Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, VA, state programmes |
| SKYRIZI, HUMIRA, RINVOQ Complete | as little as $0 | $14,000 | government insurance (see each card's terms) |
| BIMZELX Savings Program | as little as $5 per dose | not stated | Medicaid, Medicare, Part D, Medicare Advantage, Medigap, DoD, VA, TRICARE |
| DUPIXENT MyWay copay card | as little as $0 | program maximum, amount not stated | Medicaid, Medicare, VA, DOD, TRICARE, other federal or state |
| RHAPSIDO and KISQALI Co-Pay Plus | as little as $0 | annual limit, amount not stated | Medicare, Medicaid, federal or state programmes |
Read on each brand's own savings page on 19 October 2026. A card without a printed cap still has one; ask before a high-cost year.
Which programme should you try first?
- If you earn under $47,880 alone and have no insuranceEvery published drugmaker programme is open to you on income; apply to the maker of your medicine directly, and to Amgen only if you truly have no coverage.
- If you earn $47,881 to $63,840 aloneYou are over the 300% programmes (Pfizer, GSK, Amgen, AZ&Me, J&J, BMS for Eliquis) and under the 400% ones (Sanofi, Novartis, AbbVie); if your medicine is from a 300% company, ask about its exception process rather than assuming a no.
- If you earn $63,841 to $79,800 aloneMerck's KEYTRUDA group and Lilly Cares Groups 3 and 4 still fit, and so does Genentech; most other programmes do not.
- If you earn more than $79,800 aloneOnly Genentech's flat limit (under $150,000 for one to four people) is published at that level; look at copay cards if you are commercially insured, and at cash prices if not.
- If you have Medicare Part D and a low incomeApply for Extra Help first; J&J requires that step for Part D patients at or below 150% of the poverty level, and Novo Nordisk asks for a denial letter from those who may be eligible.
How do you check your own figure in two minutes?
Enter your medicine, household size, income and insurance into the OmniRx assistance finder. It screens every programme above against the limits on this page, applies Lilly's and Merck's per-medicine limits when you pick a medicine they list, compares Genentech and J&J in dollars rather than percentages, and marks the four unpublished programmes as "call to ask". Then confirm on the programme's own page, because limits change every January.
We read each programme's own eligibility page, application form or terms on 19 October 2026 (Bristol Myers Squibb and Novartis on 13 October 2026, when their pages last allowed a read), converted dollar limits to percentages of the 2026 HHS poverty guideline, and drew on the OmniRx patient assistance dataset and our own AI-citation data. Genentech's figures appear only as an image on gene.com; we read that image directly. We did not apply to any programme. Where a programme does not publish a figure, we say so rather than estimate it. OmniRx does not employ named credentialed reviewers; this is patient-navigation reference, not financial or medical advice. Full policy.
Related: how to check a rare-disease drug is covered before you enroll, Lilly Cares groups explained, Pfizer RxPathways, state prescription assistance programmes for people over every drugmaker limit.
Frequently asked questions
What income qualifies for a drugmaker patient assistance program in 2026?
For one person, most programmes use 300% of the poverty level ($47,880), 400% ($63,840) or 500% ($79,800) under the HHS 2026 guideline of $15,960. Johnson & Johnson uses $46,950 and Genentech uses under $150,000 for a household of one to four.
Why is the J&J patient assistance income limit lower than Pfizer's?
J&J's 2026 program income limit of $46,950 for one person is 300% of the 2025 poverty guideline ($15,650), while Pfizer, GSK and Amgen use 300% of the 2026 guideline, $47,880. The gap is $930 for one person.
Which drug company has the highest income limit for free medicine?
Genentech publishes the highest: total yearly income under $150,000 for a household of one to four if you are uninsured or your insurance does not cover the Genentech medicine, plus $25,000 for each additional person.
Do Novo Nordisk, Gilead and DUPIXENT MyWay have income limits?
They apply income criteria but state no figure on their own pages: Novo Nordisk says only that household income must qualify (read 29 October 2026), Gilead publishes no poverty-level threshold, and DUPIXENT MyWay decides case by case. AbbVie ($63,840 for one person) and Boehringer Ingelheim (250% of the poverty level, or 200% for its Respimat inhalers) do publish figures. Call each programme without one and ask for the dollar limit for your household size.
Can I get free medicine from a drug company if I have Medicare?
Often yes, but with extra steps. Johnson & Johnson asks Part D patients at or below 150% of the poverty level to show they do not qualify for Extra Help, Novo Nordisk asks for a denial letter from those who may be eligible, Boehringer Ingelheim has closed new Medicare Part D enrollments for its primary care medicines since 15 October 2026, and Merck lets people outside its insurance criteria request a hardship exception if their income meets its limit. Copay cards, by contrast, exclude Medicare.
Do patient assistance income limits change every year?
Yes. Most programmes tie their limits to the HHS poverty guideline, which is updated each January, so the dollar figures rise with it. Johnson & Johnson's 2026 table shows that a programme can lag a year behind.
The bottom line
A single person earning $55,000 qualifies on income at five drugmakers, misses at seven, depends on the medicine at Lilly and has to call three. Check the maker of your own medicine first, use the finder to see every programme at once, and treat an unpublished limit as a phone call, not a no.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (ASPE). 2026 Poverty Guidelines. aspe.hhs.gov checked 2026-10-19
- Pfizer. Pfizer RxPathways updates (300% FPL, $47,880). pfizerrxpathways.com checked 2026-10-19
- Johnson & Johnson. Patient Assistance Program quick reference guide, other medications (08/26). asset.jnjwithme.com (PDF) checked 2026-10-19
- Merck. Merck Helps, KEYTRUDA. merckhelps.com checked 2026-10-19
- Merck. Merck Helps, JANUVIA. merckhelps.com checked 2026-10-19
- Lilly Cares Foundation. Patient Assistance Program Application (income table and medicine groups). lillycares.com (PDF) checked 2026-10-19
- AstraZeneca. AZ&Me eligibility requirements. azandmeapp.com checked 2026-10-19
- GSK. Patient Assistance Program, Medicare eligibility. gskpaf.org checked 2026-10-19
- Amgen Safety Net Foundation. Otezla application. amgensafetynetfoundation.com (PDF) checked 2026-10-19
- Novo Nordisk. Patient Assistance Program. novocare.com checked 2026-10-29
- AbbVie. myAbbVie Assist income criteria. abbvie.com checked 2026-10-29
- Boehringer Ingelheim. Boehringer Cares patient assistance program eligibility information (09/2026). boehringer-ingelheim.com (PDF) checked 2026-10-29
- Sanofi. Sanofi Patient Connection financial eligibility. sanofipatientconnection.com checked 2026-10-19
- Novartis Patient Assistance Foundation. Eligibility and medication list. pap.novartis.com checked 2026-10-13
- Genentech. Genentech Patient Foundation: See if you qualify. gene.com checked 2026-10-19
- Bristol Myers Squibb Patient Assistance Foundation. Eligibility. bmspaf.org checked 2026-10-13
- Regeneron and Sanofi. DUPIXENT MyWay copay card and insurance. dupixent.com checked 2026-10-19
- Gilead. Advancing Access. gileadadvancingaccess.com checked 2026-10-19