On September 30th, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid(CMS) announced the details of Medicare Part D Precription Plan. Many people who suffer from chronic depression are disabled and depend upon Medicare for healthcare. This looks like an excellent progam for the disabled. It will be very helpful in covering antidepressants and antipsychotic drugs, which are very expensive.
Mark McClellan, the Administer of CMS, announced that organizations offering Medicare prescription drug coverage ?will cover the vast majority of products commonly used.? He added that plans are covering ?88% of drugs used by seniors or those on disability?. More extensive information on formularies will be released during the first week of October.
McClellan urged beneficiaries to concentrate on comparing plans based on their own preferences about premiums, deductibles and other plan design features - and not to focus on the standard benefit required by the Medicare Modernization Act. That is because competition among plan sponsors has yielded an abundance of plans available to most seniors, many of which go beyond the standard minimum.
For example, potential enrollees in every state will be offered at least one plan with an annual deductible less than the $250 level in the standard benefit, and in many cases they can select a plan with no deductible. Many plans have flat drug copays rather than a percentage coinsurance. In addition, MA-PDs in all but nine states are offering some drug coverage through the Medicare drug benefit's coverage gap, which otherwise would require beneficiaries to pay for drugs themselves after reaching a certain level of drug costs.
I know that this information is critical to many of you. Obviously, those of you on Medicare will be receiving detailed information in the coming weeks. I hope that this quick reference to the overall details of the plan is helpful.
For those who suffer from chronic or recurrent depression that does not respond to antidepresants, the U.S. Food Drug Administration(FDA)just approved the first ever long term treatment option for depression: vagus nerve stimulation. You can learn more about this medical breakthrough procedure at http://www.VagusNerveStimulator.com
There is a free newsletter to keep you up-to-date on the latest developments about this unique and effective treatment.
Charles Donovan is founder of the http://www.VagusNerveStimulator.com web site and Bulletin. His book:
Out of the Black Hole: The Patient's Guide to Vagus Nerve Stimulation and Depression
was exhibited at the 2005 American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting in Atlanta( 20,000 psychiatrists). He was implanted with the device in the FDA investigation trial on April 4, 2001, The ninety-minute out patient procedure completely changed his life after 20 years of depression and countless antidepressant/antidepressant combinations, including ECT.