Brennan maintains support for US reforms

pharmafile | February 2, 2010 | News story | Sales and Marketing Obama, US healthcare 

David Brennan has reiterated the industry’s early support for President Obama’s healthcare plans, but acknowledged the recent election of a Repulican senator for Massachusetts could jeopardise the reforms.

The AstraZeneca chief executive and chairman of US industry association PhRMA said the negotiated policy package as it currently stands “serves our industry well”.

But he added: “The US healthcare reform situation – post the Massachusetts election – has really changed the environment for healthcare policy legislation in the United States.

“I think we’re going to have to wait to see what it is going to take to try to move that forward because there are now a number of factors that are entering into this that weren’t there before,” he concluded.

Massachusetts vote could derail US health reforms

On 19 January, the people of Massachusetts elected Republican Scott Brown to be their Senator and may have wrecked President Obama’s plans for healthcare reform in the process.

Brown was elected to the seat left vacant after the death of Democrat and lifelong exponent of healthcare reform, Ted Kennedy. Brown’s victory strips the Democrats of the 60-seat Senate ‘super majority’ they had held and had used to overcome Republican to block their legislation, including healthcare reforms.

President Obama has now called on Republicans to support the existing plans for reform, but almost all of the party are fiercely opposed to the plans.

Democrats can still push through the reforms without Republican support, but this would mean a much longer legislative process, and the party is keen to move on to more popular areas, particularly efforts to improve the economy.

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