Medication Access and Continuity: The Experiences of Dual-Eligible Psychiatric Patients During the First 4 Months of the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit

amanda submitted, created time 1 year 7 months (ajp.psychiatryonline.org)

"The findings indicate consequential medication access problems for psychiatric patients during the implementation of Medicare Part D. Although Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services policies were enacted to ensure access to protected classes of psychopharmacologic medications, the high rates of medication access problems observed indicate further refinement of these policies is needed. "

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Medicare will not cover stents for neck arteries

Darkfrog submitted, created time 1 year 8 months (www.nytimes.com)

Heart stents made the news recently, but this article discusses stents that are placed in neck arteries to prevent stroke. The issue isn't whether or not they work but who will pay for them.

Dr. Barry T. Katzen, director of the Baptist Cardiac and Vascular Institute in Miami, says that this will actually help research: By linking their willingness to pay to the efficacy of clinical trials, he says, they will influence doctors to be more stringent with those trials.

He sure sounds as though he's making the best of it. Thoughts?

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Democrats Slowed in Efforts on Medicare

medal submitted, created time 1 year 8 months (hosted.ap.org)

"Deep cuts in Medicare's managed care programs seemed a sure bet last winter when Democrats, not exactly fans of health maintenance organizations, began to seek money to expand health coverage for poor children."

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Bush Boosts Defense, Trims Medicare in Record Budget

workinghard submitted, created time 1 year 11 months (www.bloomberg.com)

To kill poor people overseas, kill my own poor people first.

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