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Pharma CEOs pitch their own reform ideas
If drug company CEOs had their way, U.S. healthcare reform would look quite different from the package now making its way through the Senate. At a Cleveland Clinic summit this week, drugmaker execs offered their own prescriptions for the healthcare system. Here's a sampling:
Schering-Plough chief Fred Hassan (photo) would tax sugar-sweetened sodas, as some lawmakers have suggested. He'd also require people who have unhealthy habits to pay more for their care. Presumably that would include smokers, heavy drinkers--maybe even those who imbibe too much sugary soda. "I feel if they're adding to the cost of the system, there has to be a level of responsibility," Hassan said (as quoted by Dow Jones).
AstraZeneca CEO David Brennan (photo) would cover gym memberships and other preventive measures, rather than restricting coverage to disease treatment. "Somehow we've got to get that flipped around so people take more responsibility," he said.
Daniel Vasella (photo), CEO of Novartis, took a different tack, recommending caps on medical-malpractice awards. Spending on malpractice insurance and defensive medicine is way out of hand, he says.
Like these pharma-sourced solutions? Should Congress tack them onto their current bills? Let us know what you think.
- read the Dow Jones piece
- get more from the Wall Street Journal Health Blog
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Pharma serves as scapegoat for healthcare woes
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Who said what in PhRMA's $80B deal?
Comments
By Anonymous | Posted 4:19pm | October 8, 2009
All of these suggestions from the big pharma CEOs go to show exactly how out of touch with reality they are.
So you can cover a gym membership. Great - how do you force someone to go?
You can tax sugary sodas, but what about fruit juices that are just as caloric? What about adding SUGAR to your coffee or tea?
I'm embarrassed that this industry's best and brightest could only come-up with these as solutions.
By Anonymous | Posted 4:23pm | November 2, 2009
ditto. pretty laughable answers. The pharmaceutical industry as a whole has an opportunity to make gains in the market they have no presence- those who are uninsured and relatively healthy. This is the very same market they are selling everything from Rogaine to Viagra, which aren't life saving indications. Just think how many salespeople, R+D and regulatory affairs people they could hire. I'm not a proponent of government healthcare. I'm embarrassed too, as we watch another US industry struggle to survive.
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