What to cut from growing U.S. healthcare tab?
Two pieces of news on federal healthcare spending today could give a forward-looking pharma executive pause. First, healthcare spending has grown to around 17 percent of U.S. GDP, with the federal government set to foot half that bill by 2012–even without healthcare reform. Meanwhile, a study found that changes to Medicare reimbursements already are affecting drug treatment for cancer. Imagine, then, how cancer care might fare as healthcare spending continues to grow–at a time when the U.S. is increasingly hampered by budget shortfalls and deficit spending? It’s enough to keep a drugmaker with a big oncology business up at night. Here’s the deal on overall healthcare spending. Federal and state programs will pay a bit more than half the U.S. healthcare bill by 2012, a Medicare report shows.
