Medicaid director disputes NAMI report on drug plan

John Corlett, The state’s Medicaid director, has written a letter to the National Alliance on Mental Illness Ohio to dispute what he calls the organization’s “erroneous” report on the cost of requiring pre-authorization for certain drugs used to treat mental-health patients (Source: "Medicaid director debunks state's critic," Columbus Dispatch, July 11, 2008).

A report from Columbus economist Howard Fleeter, funded by NAMI and released earlier this week, indicated that a plan to require prior approval for drugs used to treat bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and other serious mental health conditions could cost the state as much as $38.7 million because of potentially higher hospitalization costs, lost wages, homelessness and higher rates of incarceration of the mentally ill. The plan is being proposed by the Strickland administration as a potential cost savings measure.

Corlett said the proposal calls for prior approval only for new Medicaid patients. All current Medicaid patients would be “grandfathered,” and the only restrictions for new patients would be for prescribers who do not specialize in psychiatry.

James Mauro, executive director of NAMI Ohio said that for two months Medicaid officials did not respond to requests from Fleeter for clarification on its plan.