Mental illness patients have problems with Part D: NCCBH

Low-income people with mental illnesses and those who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid are experiencing problems in moving to the new Medicare drug benefit, according to the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare (NCCBH). During a recent media briefing, NCCBH CEO/president Linda Rosenberg said, "This is not a program designed for people with serious mental illness. These people already had a prescription benefit under Medicaid. Our providers and the consumers we are focused on have new problems, when prior to this they actually had a benefit that was working. Something has been taken away, and what has been given is a very difficult program to implement and to manage." Rosenberg said NCCBH is concerned about how difficult it will be in the future for providers to prescribe these medications, which can be expensive, and for consumers to get them. For more information, visit http://www.nccbh.org/.