Everyone — almost every one — had something to say about yesterday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld most of the Affordable Care Act. We talked to people from all around the industry and here is what they had to say.
For more reactions, check out these posts:
“The forces set in motion by the act are inevitable and must be systematically addressed in any event, i.e., healthcare must be made available to all people in the country, whether or not they are employed, whether or not they are poor, whether or not they are old. There will be numerous ways to develop high-quality, affordable healthcare delivery products and services that are good investment vehicles for VCs and growth equity investors.” — Sherrill Neff, a partner with Quaker Partners
“I am not surprised it was upheld. I am somewhat confused, I admit, about the implication on limiting Medicaid responsibility of the states. While logical from a federalism perspective, how do the 32 million get insured exactly? It is a good outcome for the investment industry, no doubt, as it relieves some uncertainty that has held back the flow of funds. But fundamentally, law or no law, we need to figure out how to care for our citizens, get them to care for themselves, and do so cost effectively or the economy is permanently imperiled.” — Lisa Suennen, Psilos
“We already had the perfect storm forming around unsustainable trends, now you have the impetus of and acceleration from reform for populations that will require better care. The young healthcare IT companies that are enabling efficiencies, and automation and new services, that’s pretty exciting.” — Koleman Karleski, managing director, Chrysalis Ventures
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Reporting by Deanna Pogorelc, Arundhati Parmar, Stephanie Baum
