Posted by Michael Wonder on 22 Jan 2017
Obamacare replacement may improve patient access, Novartis says
20 January 2017 - Path ahead may not be as ‘draconian’ as feared, CEO says.
Repealing and replacing Obamacare could benefit the pharmaceutical industry if it allows drugmakers to get cutting-edge new medicines to more U.S. patients, said Joe Jimenez, chief executive officer of Swiss health care giant Novartis.
Parts of the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama’s signature health care law, have made it hard for patients to get access to some new drugs because they have high co-pays or aren’t covered, Jimenez said in an interview on Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“We want that fixed,” he said. “If we can ensure that they have access, that would be success for the pharmaceutical industry.”
