Apr 28 2011
Senate plans to cut State Health Insurance Costs. Patients now asked to buy Generics
The Senate is planning to cut down the costs for the various health care programs for the poor and disabled. This might not be a very good move. It seems that the patients of the state run health care programs would have to opt for low cost prescription for mental disorders and diseases like HIV/AIDS and Cancer. This is really not good for them because it might affect their overall well being. This change was brought about in the Senate’s proposed state budget. Now, the employees will have to pay more insurance health premiums. They would have to shell out $6 more a month from next year. The senate wishes to spend $5.8 billion as part of their health care plan start from the fiscal year starting from July 1. All those Medicaid patients who have been using branded drugs would now have to stop using these medications and will have to shift to other low cost drugs. This means that they would have to resort to generic drugs(Generic Cialis, Generic Viagra and etc.), the counterpart of branded ones. They can use the drugs to the time they are effective and equally potent. But experts say that the bill passed will not benefit disabled people because generic drugs for mental health and HIV are almost absent and if they exist, they would be of poor quality. They might not prove beneficial for their health and might not be effective. Not everyone can buy expensive drugs and this new program is really in bad taste.