Zyprexa

We believe there is significant clinical research backing up the assertion that these drugs cannot be interchanged.

They have different properties and interact with different neural receptors,' Sperling said.

NAMI supported the creation of Medicare Part D, Sperling said, because the law creating it includes protections for the mentally ill.

In three important classes of drugs, anti-psychotics, anti-depressants and anti-convulsants, health plans were required to cover 'all or substantially all' of the available medications.

What is needed now is enforcement of those rules, he said.

'We believe the problems are largely the result of drug plans not following requirements set down by Medicare,' he said.

'In design, the plan should`ve worked better - they took every step.' When medications for mentally ill seniors fall through and they end up hospitalized or in the judicial system, taxpayers and not insurance companies end up bearing the cost, Sperling added.

For low-income mentally ill seniors, Medicare spokesman Peter Ashkenaz told UPI, protections are in place.

'There is a requirement that plans cover the drugs they`re on for at least 30 days,' he said.

'The plan has to cover any drug for that long.' The Bush administration sent a letter to plan providers over the weekend reminding them of their obligation to provide a 30-day supply of medications.

The Centers for Medicare and Me...

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