Pharma wants selective tweaks to healthcare reform

One of the Republican hobby-horses this election season has been a promise to repeal healthcare reform. And now that the party appears to be poised to capture control of the House, if not the Senate, the healthcare industry is working hard to make sure that doesn't happen--or at least not all of it.

Every prong of healthcare wants something about healthcare reform changed. Insurers don't want to pay the $70 billion in increased taxes healthcare reform imposed, for example. Drugmakers want to get rid of the Independent Payment Advisory Board charged with recommending Medicare cuts.

But nobody wants to lose the millions of potential new customers healthcare reform delivered. If Republicans succeed in repealing the mandate that all Americans buy health insurance, then the industry wants some other push toward expanded insurance coverage.

"It will come down to specific policies," PhRMA SVP Wes Metheny tells the Wall Street Journal. "We were very supportive of health-care reform last year and there are some good things we think need to stay in place." Indeed, if the wrong combination of changes is made, then the industry may end up with even bigger complaints.

- read the WSJ piece

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