WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- U.S. insurers' Medicare restrictions and information requirements are slowing or stopping doctors from providing elderly and frail patients their medications.
Dozens of companies all have different requirements for doctors, with some requiring prior authorization for certain drugs, the New York Times reports.
For the osteoporosis drug, Forteo, the Coventry Health Care company wants to know the patient's bone mineral density. For some AIDS drugs, the doctor must specify the "viral load" and white blood cell count. In requesting approval for certain antifungal drugs, the doctor must provide a laboratory report identifying the species of the infectious agent.
"Medicare drug plans have created significant hurdles that patients and physicians must jump over before getting their medications," said Dr. Jeffery Kerr, who cares for older patients in southern Missouri. "The prescription drug plans are playing a dangerous game. In many cases, we're dealing with frail, very vulnerable individuals."
Pharmacist Ross Brickley in Kinston, N.C., said he had requested prior authorizations for hundreds of drugs taken by Medicare patients in more than 20 plans, each with its own policies.
"We have a world of chaos," Brickley said.
