Study Discusses 'Pay Or Play' Mandates; NEJM Perspective Examines Generic Drug Regulation

Main Category: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Also Included In: Public Health;  Pharma Industry / Biotech Industry
Article Date: 16 Nov 2007 - 10:00 PDT

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"HealthCare Reform: The Economics of 'Pay or Play' Employer Mandates," Employment Policies Institute: The study, by Richard Burkhauser and Kosali Simon of Cornell University, examines "pay or play" employer health coverage mandates. According to the study, depending on how coverage is determined, the mandates could leave a significant share of low-income workers ineligible for benefits, either because their hourly wages are too high or because they work for smaller firms that are exempt from the mandates (Burkhauser/Simon, "HealthCare Reform: The Economics of 'Pay or Play' Employer Mandates," November 2007).

"The Ongoing Regulation of Generic Drugs," New England Journal of Medicine: In the NEJM perspective, Richard Frank, a professor of health economics at Harvard Medical School, discusses the history of efforts to regulate generic drugs and the rules under which they can compete with brand-name products. According to Frank, incentives created by laws such as the Drug Price Competition and Patent Restoration Act of 1984, also known as the Hatch-Waxman Act, have had profound effects on the prescription drug market. Frank also examines some negative repercussions of generic drug laws, including a large amount of litigation, intense price competition and other effects that are considered "socially undesirable" (Frank, NEJM, 11/15).

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