State requires preauthorization for certain mental health drugs

Gov. Strickland is being criticized for requiring preauthorization for certain specialized mental health drugs after Jan. 1. (Source: "Mental-health medication at issue," Columbus Dispatch, Dec. 12, 2007.) Strickland used a line-item veto to remove budget language "approved by state lawmakers that would have prevented Medicaid drug restrictions from kicking in" at the start of the year. Mental-health advocates say the policy could affect 350,000 Ohioans, while Senator Kevin Coughlin, R-Cuyahoga Falls, said he would like to overturn the governor's veto (but doesn't believe that will happen at this point).

"Strickland, a former prison psychologist, reasoned that striking the legislature's language, thus allowing preauthorization requirements to kick in for seven expensive psychotropic drugs, would save the state Medicaid program $20 million to $47 million annually." Strickland spokesman Keith Dailey said the governor believes preauthorization controls ensure patients get the right drugs for their illness while also saving the state money. The administration's policy "requires managed-care companies to give an answer on a requested drug within 24 hours. It also provides for a 72-hour emergency supply of outpatient drugs in case of delays."