Commentary: For all Obamacare’s high premiums, rate-hikes and mandates, if you need expensive drugs, you might not have any coverage at all.
“The President famously promised that you could keep your health plan and doctor. For many people, both of those pledges are turning out to be false. And now, you might not be able to keep your medicine, either.”
“There are two reasons why. The first has to do with the higher out of pocket costs patients will face. The second issue may be even more significant.”
“Simply put, many drugs may not be covered at all, and the costs patients incur by buying them with cash won’t count against out of pocket caps.” [...]
[...] “If [a] drug isn’t on [the list of covered drugs], then the patient could be responsible for its full cost (with little or no co-insurance to help offset that cost). Most of the Obamacare plans have “closed” formularies where non-formulary drugs aren’t covered. Moreover, the money consumers spend won’t count against their deductibles or out of pocket limits ($12,700 for a family, $6,350 for an individual).”
“These are the ways that Obamacare cheapens the health coverage in order to pay for all of its expensive mandates.”
[...] “In many cases, the health plans being offered in the Obamacare exchanges don’t make information about their drug formularies readily available. In some cases, it doesn’t seem to be published anywhere.”
[...] “Many plans are also not publishing information about their networks of doctors …“ (emphasis added)
No, You Can’t Keep Your Drugs Either Under Obamacare
Forbes.com, 12/09/2013
Scott Gottlieb, M.D.