The Nov. 15 article, “Sign-ups begin today for Medicare drug benefit” flags a situation that we at the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) of Snohomish County want to highlight.
The new Medicare Part D prescription drug program is very complex. Our concern at NAMI is for those vulnerable mentally ill and disabled who will not (in our opinion) without individual help, be able to find their way through the “labyrinth” of Medicare Part D. Medicare is “auto-enrolling” some portions of this population (“dual-eligibles”) as a kind-of “fail-safe,” in that even if a dual-eligible fails to enroll, he or she will be automatically enrolled in the program and assigned a plan, thereby assuring that they will at least have coverage and (theoretically) be able to continue to receive their necessary medications. The problem is that, as best we can discern, (1) there is no guarantee that the plans being assigned will include the medications needed by individual dual-eligibles, and (2) every individual pharmacy will be signing up with only certain Part D plans (so there’s no guarantee that a dual-eligible who visits his or her usual pharmacy, expecting to pick up their usual medication, will actually be able to do so).
We are asking all professional mental health providers and family members and friends of the mentally ill and disabled to make sure that these vulnerable people (particularly “dual-eligibles”) are individually contacted and assisted in finding their way to the best Medicare Part D plan. If as a provider, family member or friend you feel inadequate to the task, we suggest you attend one of the presentations being made available by Senior Services of Snohomish County and SHIBA; for information call: Senior Services at 1-800-422-2024 or 425-513-1900 and SHIBA at 1-800-562-6900 or 425-290-1276.
Jim Bloss/President
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI)
of Snohomish County
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