WP: Stability of Mentally Ill Shaken By Medicare Drug Plan Problems

[kskiska]

Some Prescription Denials Have Heightened Distress

Monday, February 6, 2006; A01

Even among the incident reports crossing Craig Knoll's desk weekly now, this one stood out: A 43-year-old client of Knoll's mental health agency, a man who suffers from bipolar disorder, had come from his pharmacy frustrated to the point of meltdown. There were snags in his new Medicare drug plan. Of his four medicines, it would fill only two.

"I'm not going to take any of them anymore," he yelled, according to the report by caseworkers. Before they could do anything, he grabbed the prescription bottles he'd just gotten, ran for the restroom and dumped both in the toilet.

"He flushed everything he had on hand," recounted Knoll, executive director of Threshold Services in Silver Spring, whose staff spent day after day last month grappling with the many ramifications of the government's troubled program. Threshold came to the rescue of clients who couldn't get any medications or who, despite their pills, were in increasing distress because of all the confusion. It reimbursed several who'd mistakenly paid hundreds of dollars for pills that should have cost them a few dollars -- and replenished the supply of the client who had thrown his away.

"I'm not saying it's the federal government's fault he flushed his meds," Knoll said. "I'm saying it's the federal government's fault he couldn't get his meds. It's not surprising that people with mental illness respond in ways that people with mental illness respond."

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/05/AR2006020501163.html

[niyad]

1. do we actually think chimpboy and co give a damn? I see the whole

program as nothing more than culling out the "undesirables".

[54anickel]

3. Yep, just build more prisons, that will resolve the issue. Privatize them

and consider it another feather in *'s economic policy cap. :sarcasm:

[me b zola]

14. That's what Reagan did

Closed down mental health facilities leaving untold thousands of mentally ill people homeless. Our prisons are now filled with mentally ill people who need medical/psychiatric care, not prisons.

[AuntiBush]

20. Good Grief.

I remember that now. We've been warped back in time by these criminals.

[LisaL]

2. That's not good. It's not like mentally ill need more shaking.

Geez!

[sarcasmo]

19. I would be careful approaching the homeless these days.

You never know who Dictator 43 screwed out of their meds.

[Wordie]

4. I read an article in the newspaper that said some states are stepping in

to try to take up the slack, because Medicare Part D is so messed up. But most of those states really don't have the money in their budgets to do that for long.

[Dangerously Amused]

5. Ahh, but that is what little Georgie has been counting on!

Someone ALWAYS comes along and bails him out of his fuckups and failed business ventures. Mommy and Daddy, or Daddy's nice friends with a lot of money, or that thoughtful lawyer lady who helped him scrub his drunk driving arrests and his AWOL records, and Daddy's campaign manager who paid to have Georgie's girlfriend's abortion shushed up, and the kindly judge who let Georgie do community service for his cocaine possession charge...

[Mnemosyne]

6. .

[Ilsa]

7. I have a friend whose adult son was recently diagnosed

bipolar and I think schizophrenic. He is in college part time, but can't manage it full time. He is covered under the state's plan, they say, but Texas can never seem to get him his meds (including an anti-psychotic, for starters). So his parents drive to Mexico to buy his drugs for him at a greatly reduced cost until the State can get off its ass and help him. This has been going since last spring.

[WarNoMore]

8. This so worries me---

I have a family member who is bipolar and just now getting stabilized. He has not been approved for SSI.

[NVMojo]

9. I swear, the elite bastards are trying to create total chaos here

in the USA.

[autorank]

17. "Evil is as evil dows!"

:hi:

[rodeodance]

10. nominated.

[Straight Shooter]

11. george bush gets his medicine without any problems

The citizens of this country deserve that right, as well.

[Dunvegan]

12. There will be people who become unstable due to difficulties...

...in getting their medications that may become violent to themselves and/or others.

I don't look forward to the fall out on this at all...and it seems inevitable.

[autorank]

13. This is pure evil. It's a bad program run by vile people.

I've been using online services since 1981. I helped my mother in law get her prescription program going just before the deadline. It took me about 15 minutes to scope things out and make sure I was doing the right things, make sure she had the information she needed. Then the review started. She kept saying, "What about the dough nut hole?" (a gap in coverage in some plans between base coverage and a point at which Medicare picks up everything). That took an hour!

Here's the simple point. You can't do the damn thing unless you read carefully after you know how to use the online program. It's not a bad program, btw, but you really need to check out the options. There is no warning, for example, that plans will have gaps in coverage.

We found a very good plan, Humana (in the Southeast, GA is where she lives). It's cheaper than the others, covers her drugs, and has no f'ing "dough nut hole." That did not stop her from incessantly asking, "What about the dough nut hole?" She's a delight and I'm glad I helped her.

I can only imagine solo seniors or seniors without anyone to help or seniors who just march through without paying attention.

This program is a disgrace!

[ninkasi]

15. The whole Bush administration is a disgrace

You are right when you say that this is a vile program run by evil people. All Chimp cares about is rewarding his corporate donors. He wants to enrich the wealthy even further. I truly believe he delights in the mental anguish he causes Americans, it's part of his being a sociopath.

When he isn't able to torture physically...yet...the next best thing is to inflict mental harm. He is the worst president ever to be inflicted on our country.

[autorank]

16. "the worst president" -- you and I are in total agreement.

Who victimizes the weakest in our society? I'm talking about the elderley, and particularly those elderley who RELY on medication for serious physical and mental illness. My God, what monsters these people are!

[Mizmoon]

18. I love it - force people to take meds, often against their will

and once they dependant on them, make it as difficult as possible to get them!

[Samurai_Writer]

21. My sister is severely schitzophrenic

Before part D, she was paying about $900 a month for her share of her meds. After part D, she can't even get some of her meds. If she didn't live with my mom, she'd be homeless -- ALL of her SSDI goes to pay for her medication.

[jbnow]

22. Have they checked with

Community Mental Health there?

I have been out of the field for a few years and I know their budgets keep being cut and it varies place to place...

But my clients could go through them and get their medications based on ability to pay, very reasonable. Some of my clients were on SSD, some were working. The newer effective medications are very expensive and they made sure no one ever went without because of finances.

The Alliance for the Mentally Ill are also worth a call for where to turn. They will be well aware of the problem.

Good luck to your sister. It is so hard to find the right medication and very traumatic to lose it.