Healthcare Reform Settled, Back to Business

The main result of the Supreme Court decision upholding the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is that it ends all the rampant speculation and uncertainty about the future shape of the U.S. health care system. Now health care providers, insurers, medical products makers and government agencies can move forward with the complex process of establishing new programs and policies to expand coverage to millions of Americans. Patients can expect more coverage options and improved access to care, including prescription drugs.

The much-anticipated ruling produced an audible sigh of relief from the health care industry, even those parties that would have preferred to see much of the program disappear. For pharma and biotech companies, the decision means that the Food and Drug Administration can continue to implement the new biosimilars program and that industry will continue to pay higher Medicaid rebates and provide discounts to Medicare patients who reach the Part D doughnut hole.