Excluded Drugs

When the Medicare Drug plan is implemented in full in 2006 you may find that some drugs you are presently taking are still not covered by the plan. Certain types of anti-anxiety drugs in the benzodiazepine class will not be covered. Included in this class of drugs are common medications including Xanax, Valium, and Ativan. This means that seniors who are presently taking these drugs will have to continue paying for them on their own or find other coverage for these drugs. For low income Medicare recipients who depended on their state Medicaid program to pay for this drug this may be a big problem. Stopping these drugs abruptly can lead to seizures or other serious problems.

While State Medicaid programs can continue to cover these drugs without loss of matching funds the fear is that some cash-strapped states may chose not to cover these drugs.