The healthcare reform juggernaut, arguably the most radical attempt to remake the economy and the nation’s healthcare infrastructure in history, was supposed to have flown through Congress before the August recess with nary a peep. Instead, as Americans have gotten wind of its alarming provisions and exorbitant costs, the plan appears to be fizzling fast in the summer heat.
The Devil is in the Details of the Healthcare Bills, Or Not
President Obama and congressional Democrats have been playing defense on healthcare reform throughout the month of August as congressional town hall meetings across the country have erupted in anger and frustration. A favorite theme in the President’s and his allies’ speeches is that Americans have been manipulated and exploited by opponents of his healthcare initiatives, jack-booted obstructionists who are peddling falsehoods about what is actually in the bills.
A “Generic” Call for Change
As Congress braces for the largest reform of healthcare in the nation’s history, lost in the debate has been an issue critical to federal and state healthcare budgets, as well as the ability of consumers to afford lifesaving drugs. The issue is whether Congress should grant generic makers of the next generation of medications called “biologics” the same regulatory approval treatment it did for chemical drugs under the 1984 Hatch-Waxman Act.
Healthcare Reform: A Pricey Prescription
President Obama promised this would be the year of health care reform, but many are bracing for what this “reform” could really mean. After much anticipation, Democrats have started to unveil their healthcare reform plans, revealing new policy proposals that would, among other things, expand Medicaid, impose individual and employer mandates, enlarge the almost bankrupt Medicare program, create a new government-run healthcare plan, and cost at least $1 trillion over 10 years. The overall result will inevitably be higher taxes, less patient choice, and ultimately, rationing of care.