Prescription drug costs are higher than ever, leaving many patients with few options for affordable medications. Unfortunately, the medications most critical to survival for many suffering consumers are also the most expensive.

Enter drug assistance programs, also called patient access programs or drug access programs. Whatever the name, they all serve the same function: to help patients afford medications they otherwise couldn't.

It's clear these programs help thousands of patients each year afford their drugs, but critics say to hold the praise because these programs aren't all they're cracked up to be.