Florida Considering Limiting Payment for Some Children's Drugs

Psychiatrists Must Evaluate Prescriptions

A Florida state panel met on Wednesday to determine whether Florida should draft more detailed policy concerning which drugs it should pay for.

The Agency for Health Care Administration of Florida, as of late April 2008, requires doctors to obtain permission in order for the State's Medicaid program to fund certain drugs prescribed to children for mood disorder and behavioral problems. Specifically, children being prescribed atypical antipsychotics for the treatment of bipolar disorder, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder and autism must have their prescriptions evaluated by psychiatrists at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

While the FDA no longer recommends the use of atypical antipsychotics in young children, the recent decision by Florida Medicaid has raised questions regarding the motivation behind it, with some doctors wondering if this is really a cost-cutting exercise.

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Published on Jun-27-08