| Q: Medications are
really expensive. Is there any help available for
people who are mentally ill? |
A: The State of Maryland's
Maryland Pharmacy Assistance Program provides
assistance based on the financial resources available to
the family unit. Montgomery County has an
Rx
prescription card program for all Montgomery County residents.
A number of
pharmaceutical companies have developed a
program for people with limited income who are less than
65 years old. |
| Q: Is there
information available about the Medicare Prescription
Drug Program? |
Some of the current state programs will
be replaced with the Federal Government's Medicare
Prescription Drug Program. People began to get
mailings about the program in September. The
Federal Government has information on it's web site
about the program.
Montgomery County provides information and help
(including individual appointments) through
SHIP (Senior Health Insurance Assistance Program).
Although this program is labeled for Seniors, they have
advise and for people who are disabled regardless of
age.
NAMI has tried to represent people who have mental
illness during the development of the new plan.
When choosing a program make sure that the
medications needed are covered in the program. |
| Q: Is there financial
help available for people who are disabled? |
Yes, there is Supplemental Security
Income and Social Security Disability Income. The
Disability Entitlement Advocacy Program (DEAP) of
the State of Maryland can provide help in applying to
these programs.
The group
Independence Now has Benefit Specialists to help
answer questions about Supplemental Security Income and
Social Security Disability Income. |
| Q: Is there a place
that I can call for immediate help when there is a
crisis? |
A: Yes, the
Montgomery County Crisis Center is an excellent
resource. The center provides goal-oriented crisis
intervention, brief crisis stabilization, and help in
obtaining services for individuals and families with a
mental health crisis or experiencing other crisis
situations. The center is open 24 hours a day.
Their phone number is 240-777-4000. |
| Q: Is there a support
group for parents of children? |
A: A free support group for
parents of children and adolescents with mental illness
meets the 3rd Tuesday of each month at Suburban Hospital
in Bethesda from 7:30-9 PM in Room CR 6,7 (lower level).
For more information, contact Emily Novick at
301-949-5852 or
enovick@namimc.org. |
| Q: Are there other
support groups in the area? |
NAMI has a number of support groups.
Montomery County Support groups are for family and
friends of people with a mental disease. There are
a number of NAMI support groups in Northern Virgina -
the
NAMI Northern Virginia web site is a good site for
people who live in Northern Virginia.
DBSA has a patient only support group that meets every
Thursday evening at George Washington University
Hospital (7:30 PM). |
| Q: I read about
research being done to help develop new treatments for
mental illness. Is there a way to participate in
the research efforts? |
A. There are a number of research
programs looking for participants in what are known as
Clinical Trials. When you participate in a
research program, the experimental treatments are free,
and in some cases there is a small payment made to the
patients. Research instituti ons in the area have
a number of programs. The
National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH) in
Bethesda has
Clinical Trials that are both outpatient and
inpatient. A number of the area universities also
have Clinical Trials:
George Washington University,
Georgetown, Johns Hopkins and the University of
Maryland. Clinical trials are also done by
pharmaceutical companies and these are advertised on the
radio and in the newspapers. |
