Another Obamacare Trick Exposed And Backfiring
Stanley Feld M.D., FACP, MACE
The drug industry has been quiet during the Obamacare debate. However, the industry’s lobbying group worked with the Obama administration to get Obamacare.
Why would PhRMA do that when President Obama encouraged everyone to buy generic drugs in order to get full coverage for their drug costs?
It is because President Obama promised PhRMA huge concessions and windfall profits after the health insurance exchanges were successful.
PhRMA is not going to make those windfall profits. When Americans see that the health insurance exchanges are more expensive than the private plans. Only those who cannot buy private insurance because they have pre-existing illnesses will sign up for Obamacare.
This will drive the health insurance exchange premiums higher,cover less, restrict access to care and drugs and ration care.
President Obama provided waivers from the implementation of Obamacare to many special groups except the individual market. Those waivers delayed implementation of Obamacare for one to two years.
The administration was concerned that implementation of Obamacare to everyone would cause a storm of protest that the administration could not contain.
These special groups will lobby for the continuation of those waivers as they realize that premiums and deductibles will be higher in the health insurance exchange market than the private market.
The profits PhRMA expected will evaporate.
Consumers not subsidized by Obamacare who bought Silver plans in the individual market through the health insurance exchanges are cooked.
They will pay one and one half to two times the price for drugs next year than they are paying this year.
The government will be paying drug companies for the increased price of drugs for people whose Silver plans are subsidized.
The result will be an increased cost of Obamacare to the public as President Obama redistributes wealth on the backs of the middle class making $50,000.01 or more
How did PhRMA help President Obama get Obamacare passed?
PhRMA paid for the multimillion dollar Harry and Louise ad campaign on TV during the debate for passage of Obamacare.
It financed a false message that was in support of Obamacare as opposed to its original Harry and Louise message that sunk the passage of Hillarycare in 1993.
“A new report by Milliman, Inc. finds that Silver plans with combined deductibles offered through the Health Insurance Exchanges may require patients to pay more than twice as much out of pocket for prescription medicines overall as they would under a typical employer plan.”
“This is a far larger increase in out-of-pocket costs than was found for other medical care.”
The cost of drugs to consumers buying a Silver plan through the Health Insurance exchange without government subsidy and high deductibles will cost twice as much as employer sponsored plans.
“Americans participating in the Exchanges were promised coverage comparable to employer plans and yet the reality is that many new plans are failing to provide an appropriate level of access to quality, affordable health care,” said John Castellani, President and CEO of PhRMA.
Patients’ with high deductible Silver plans will have difficulty affording medicines necessary to manage their illnesses. Paying for medications will be especially difficult for consumers earning more than $50,000.00 who are not subsidized and have chronic diseases. These people need multiple medications to control their chronic disease in order to avoid complications of their disease.
Eighty percent of the healthcare dollars are spent on treating the complications of chronic disease.
The unaffordability of medication to prevent acute and chronic complications of chronic diseases such as Diabetes Mellitus results in an increase in hospitalizations and higher health care costs overall.
Conversely, programs that encourage better adherence have been shown to reduce emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and other preventable, costly care.
The Obamacare rules and regulations are going to encourage an increase, not a decrease, in healthcare costs for non-subsidized Americans.
This contradicts President Obama’s pledge to encourage prevention of illness.
However, it fulfills President Obama’s goal of redistribution of wealth. It could also be interpreted as increasing the tax on the middle class.
If the public realized this would happen with Obamacare it would have protested the passage of Obamacare.
A house panel uncovered the secret deal in an email between PhRMA and the Obama administration in 2012. It was not revealed to the public until recently.
Nancy Pelosi’s statement about not knowing what is in Obamacare until it is passed was an ominous signal that the public would be taken advantage of. No one picked up the signal.
President Obama’s signal legislation is leaving hard working Americans no option but to demand that Obamacare be repealed.
It must be replaced by a healthcare plan that will work.
It must be replaced by a plan that gives consumers the opportunity to be responsible for their health and their healthcare dollars.
It must be replaced by a plan where common sense prevails.
The opinions expressed in the blog “Repairing The Healthcare System” are, mine and mine alone
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