Obamacare start has ‘not been great’: Boots chairman

The U.S.'s entire healthcare system needs to change, said Stefano Pessina, a non-executive director of Walgreens and executive chairman of Alliance Boots.

The implementation of President Barack Obama's signature healthcare reform law, called the Affordable Care Act or "Obamacare", has been disappointing, Pessina told CNBC.

(Read more: Here's 8 things you must know about Obamacare)

"The start of the Obama healthcare has not been great, but I recognize this is an attempt to make the assistance, the care, more equitable," Pessina said on Friday.

"Of course, this should be done in a way which is more efficient, and probably, all the system in the U.S. should change," the Italian businessman added.

When asked by CNBC if Obamacare was a move in the right direction for the U.S., Pessina replied: "Conceptually yes. Practically, I am not so sure".

Obamacare was signed into law in 2010 and aims to improve U.S. access to affordable healthcare. Its implementation has been riddled with problems, including technical glitches on HealthCare.gov, the Obamacare enrollment website.

(Read more: Obamacare enrollment tops 2.1 million—lots more to go)

Pessina spoke to CNBC from the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He has previously described the U.S. healthcare system as, "Quite rich, quite fat and not particularly efficient at all".


Clarification: This piece has been clarified to reflect that Pessina was referring to the start of Obamacare.


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