Under Part D, 24% of elderly will lose coverage of important mental health drugs
On Jan. 1, 2006, several categories of medications will be explicitlyexcluded from Medicare’s new prescription drug benefit, includingbenzodiazepines, which are listed as an “essential medication” with theWorld Health Organization. Stephen Soumerai, professor of ambulatorycare and prevention in the Department of Ambulatory Care and Prevention(of Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care) published apaper that details the impact this removal will have on society.
Currently, 24 percent of the elderly on Medicare, or 1.7 millionpeople, will lose this coverage completely. The paper reports thatnegative effects are likely to take place, including withdrawalreactions, seizures, emergency department visits, and hospitaladmissions because the Medicare patients will not be able to affordthese sometimes essential drugs.
Benzodiazepines are widely prescribed and generally safe andinexpensive treatments for anxiety, panic disorder, insomnia, andneurologic and rheumatologic disorders (such as muscle spasms andepileptic seizures).
The study appears in 56 Psychiatr Serv. 1143-1146 (2005)
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