Your response to healthcare reform

Since Congress passed healthcare reform legislation in March, Formulary has continued to ask for your feedback. The majority of you (72%) responded that the passage of healthcare reform legislation would significantly impact the activities/functions/role of the P&T Committee. Nineteen percent of respondents answered that it will have a modest impact and 9% of respondents believe it will have no impact.

Those of you who answered “Significant impact” indicated that you were concerned that reform would lead to government intrusion, P&T roles changing from clinical care to cost management, prescriber limitations, increased paper work, higher costs, and higher taxes. One respondent saw healthcare reform in a positive light.

Respondents who answered, “Significant impact” said:

“The whole emphasis of the reform bill is to cut costs. Therefore there will be more government intrusion into healthcare decision making.”

“P&T role will ultimately be cost management rather than clinical care. Formulary and cash will be kings.”

"1) Cost containment
2) Reimbursements
3) Restriction of availability
4) Prescriber limitation
5) Increased "paper work"
6) Increased oversight control"

“When the insurance mandate is implemented, hospitals should be able to fare better financially, as patients we currently treat without insurance, and therefore little or no income from their care, should then be covered in part or in total by insurance. I foresee more demand for healthcare services, once people who now have no insurance will be able to seek medical care before their illnesses become catastrophic. All in all, I see healthcare reform in a positive light. Now we must work on improving healthcare delivery and reducing costs by changing some of the ways we do things.”

One respondent who answered “Modest impact” elaborated:

“Decisions more heavily based on margin, or lack of negative margin, will occur. Every dollar will be watched until it all shakes out.”

One respondent who answered “No impact” explained further by saying:

“As an ICF-MR [intermediate care facility for people with mental retardation], our population would hardly be affected by the legislation.”