Non-Medical switching ….. know what we’re talking about?
In the patient advocacy world, Non-Medical Switching has been a major topic this year.
Non-Medical switching happens when the insurance provider forces a switch to an alternate medication, usually less expensive, to the one your health care provider prescribed. In certain HMO’s, it may actually be your HCP who switches or prescribes a less than optimal drug. AnCan sees this frequently with Kaiser Permanente.
The switched medication frequently may not work as well. For some conditions that can be devastating … for example with mood stabilizers prescribed for mental health care. A recent survey by the Alliance for Mental Heath Care Access (AMHCA) showed that 40% of patients taking medication to maintain stable mental health did worse when switched. Consequnces can be tragic.
In March, I was in Washinton DC to lobby for the American Urology Association. Switching was one of our talking points with Federal legislators. AnCan also partners with the Alliance for Patient Access (AfPA), a parent organization to AMHCA. With Mental Health Awareness Month coming up, they have just published an attention-grabbing report addressing medcial switching. Read it at https://instituteforpatientaccess.org/non-medical-switching-pushes-patients-to-the-brink/
AnCan continues to advocate on behalf of all our patients. We take Mental Health programming very seriously and now offer 5 related programs:
- Men-only Speaking Freely
- AYA Men-only Speaking Freely – 18-45
- Virtual Art As Therapy
- Solo Arts Heal Show
- Care Partners Support – Stage 3 and 4 Cancer
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