Real situations don’t always fit a form.
The eligibility framework is designed to accommodate situations that do not fit conventional application categories.
Patients with financial resources facing exceptionally expensive treatment
Some patients are not poor in the usual sense, yet the cost of a pathway far exceeds what they can reasonably pay.
How the framework responds
- Financial need is assessed individually, not through income alone.
- The total expected cost — including travel, accommodation and follow-up — is compared with available resources, insurance and other funding.
- Support may be partial, according to circumstances and available resources.
Children requiring experimental treatment
Families of seriously ill children may seek treatments that are still experimental.
How the framework responds
- Experimental treatments require enhanced medical, ethical and regulatory review.
- AAM helps identify appropriate clinical trials and distinguishes experimental from established options.
- The pediatric priority principle applies when cases are otherwise substantially equivalent.
Patients without a definitive diagnosis
Some patients need specialized assessment precisely because no diagnosis has been reached.
How the framework responds
- The absence of a definitive diagnosis does not automatically disqualify an applicant when obtaining that diagnosis is itself a necessary part of the medical pathway.
- Advanced diagnostics — imaging, diagnostic genetic sequencing — are a domain AAM supports.
- Funding of essential diagnostic examinations is one of the pillar-one activities.
Patients requiring treatment abroad
The appropriate specialist or technology may be in another country.
How the framework responds
- AAM supports international medical transfers when appropriate and assists with administrative and logistical procedures.
- Travel and accommodation are included in the assessment of total cost and available support.
- Legal, regulatory and safety conditions are checked, along with arrangements for post-treatment follow-up.
Patients needing several connected procedures
A single pathway may combine surgery, advanced therapy, diagnostics and rehabilitation.
How the framework responds
- A treatment pathway and budget are established across the whole sequence, not procedure by procedure.
- Coordination between institutions is part of AAM’s navigation role.
- Continuity of care is an eligibility criterion in itself.
Patients requiring long-term rehabilitation and follow-up
Success often depends on what happens after the procedure.
How the framework responds
- Rehabilitation and necessary follow-up care can be supported.
- AAM follows the pathway where appropriate, with informed consent.
- Post-treatment care is checked before a pathway is approved.
An important principle
The complexity of organizing a treatment must not, by itself, make a patient less deserving of assistance.
Is your situation different from the examples?
Tell us about it — the framework is built to be applied case by case.