Medicaid Reimbursement for Light Therapy

Ms. A, a 40-year-old Guatemalan woman living in a family shelter with four school-age children, never experienced clinical depression before moving to New York 15 years ago. Since then, she regularly experienced winter depression accompanied by hyperphagia, hypersomnia, and cravings for sweets. These bouts of depression led to her losing a nurse’s aide job and being abandoned by her husband. Treatment with venlafaxine, 375 mg/day, and later fluoxetine, 40 mg/day, provided minimal benefit in winter, but there was dramatic improvement in spring and summer. When Ms. A was initially evaluated, she was depressed and ready to drop out of a medical technician training program. We loaned her a 10,000-lux light box, which she used 30 minutes each morning. Within 2 weeks, she improved markedly. Subsequently, she finished her training and began working as a medical technician and living independently.