Medicare Part D & Your Practice – Medicare’s New Pharmacy Benefit

How will your patients with Medicare be affected by the transition to this new pharmacy benefit? To learn more about Medicare Part D and earn CME credits, go to American Psychiatric Association’s Grand Rounds Online. To register and join this listserv go to http://www.psych.org/grandrounds/.

The clock is counting down to the implementation of Medicare Part D, Medicare’s new pharmacy benefit. Part D enrollment starts November 15, 2005 , and coverage begins January 1, 2006 . This means changes for most of the 40 million seniors and disabled individuals who participate in Medicare, many of whom are receiving treatment for mental illness.

There are over 6 million dual eligibles, people who have both Medicare and Medicaid, and 2.5 million of them have chronic, serious, and persistent mental illness. Their drug coverage will be switching from Medicaid to Medicare on January 1, 2006 , which means there will be a whole new system to navigate if they are to continue to have access to required medications

Grand Rounds Online: Medicare Part D & Your Practice – Medicare’s New Pharmacy Benefit starts November 17 with the discussion ending December 8, 2005 . This course will be archived for continued access to information and credit through December 2007.