As the saying goes, “there’s no such thing as a free lunch” and while healthcare prices and fees have been continually reduced for patients, costs are still being increased in other areas. This plan is predicted to take a heavy toll on the U.S. budget as the Congressional Budget Office predicts that America will be sunk nearly $226 billion more into debt by 2019 due to Obamacare alone, begging the question: will pharmacies also be forced to pay the price?
Officials claim that there should be little direct impact on pharmacists besides adjusting to new methods of how to charge buyers and perhaps answering questions from confused customers. However, as pharmacies interact with health insurance companies on a regular basis, these professionals often have first-hand knowledge about reforms and policies. In some cases, this results in frustration. According to pharmacy owner Jenny Kinsey, Americans who have health insurance have already been paying for the neglect of others who are either unable to afford insurance, or choose not to purchase insurance. As medicine is purchased, insurance companies receive what some may see as undeserving, outrageously high premiums.
Nevertheless, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act did not come
In the future, Obamacare could mark huge success in medical breakthroughs as the plan commits to providing tax credits for the production of new therapies by small companies, coverage for costly patient clinical trials, and funding for other innovations. As with all reforms, only time will show the true impact of this decision.
Sources:
http://www.times-standard.com/letters/ci_21100416/pharmacy-owner-remarks-obamacare
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303830204577446470015843822.html
http://www.morganlewis.com/pubs/WashGRPP_ImpactOnPharmaManufacturers_LF_15apr10.pdf