Blacks may be endangered by health-plan drug policy - possible health hazards caused by managed-care health plan that restrict selection of drugs - Brief Article

Jet, July 5, 1993

Blacks may be endangered by the policy of managed-care health plans that limit the selection of drugs available for treatment, the National Pharmaceutical Council, industry-supported group, is contending.

In an article on race, ethnicity and drug reactions in the June issue of Pharmaceutical Medicine, Dr. Richard Levy, vice president of the NPC, says that limiting the variety of drugs available for treatment may force doctors to prescribe medicine to Blacks that produce "suboptimal, adverse, uncontrolled or unexpected responses."

Managed-care health plans allow only certain drugs to reduce prescription drug costs. Dr. Levy says that this policy forces doctors to treat patients of all races the same medically.