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Washington Promises Swift Resolution on Healthcare Reform - What it Means for DTC Marketing

What Does the Newly Proposed Healthcare Policy Mean for DTC Marketing? DTC Perspectives Provides the Latest News and Invites You to Find Out More

President Obama declared Healthcare Reform the "single most important thing we can do for America 's long-term fiscal health" at an address at the AMA's National Conference Monday. AMA doctors were interactive and reactive during the President's speech, but for the most part seemed to support his plan for overhauling the healthcare system. Of interest to the DTC Marketing Industry were Obama's comments regarding preventative medicine. "I want to work with the AMA,” he said, “so we can scale back the excessive defensive medicine that reinforces our current system and shift to a system where we are providing better care simply -- rather than simply more treatment.” Whether or not this reference to "simply more treatment" was intended to include reference to the use of preventative Rx medications (statins, NSAIDs, type 2 diabetes drugs) has yet to be determined, but the President was specific in his desire to see people stem the tide of "defensive medicine" through generally healthier lifestyles. He later expounded on his position on Rx costs by saying "We can also save about $75 billion through more efficient purchasing of prescription drugs."

To better understand how the coming healthcare reform will impact DTC Marketing, DTC Perspectives is hosting

"Reform and Refocus - A Conference on The Impact of Healthcare Reform on DTC Communication" on October 14 - 15, 2009 in Livingston, New Jersey.

This two-day summit on the future of direct-to-consumer marketing will be lead by legislative experts, marketing authorities, futurists and brand leaders. We invite you to mark your calendar now and plan to attend this important industry event.

Watch for a full agenda soon and visit the website for details

Congress has been more specific in how they plan to pay for the pending overhaul to the healthcare system. According to Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel, “one thing that's not off the table is you can pick up $37 billion knocking out the deduction for [prescription drug] advertising". Rangel is targeting the deduction both as a way to fund the proposal and to eliminate what he considers to be a corporate tax break unfairly footed by consumers. Claiming that DTC advertising causes consumers to request medications they don't need, he comments “I do it. I go to the doctor and say, ‘Did you ever think about ordering this for me?'” Rangel said. “If he says no, I don't like him, because they promised me on TV that I have no problems at all.” While DTC experts are skeptical of the $37 billion savings claim, it is certain that DTC marketing will be a focus during congressional review of the proposed policy.

In addition to the efforts by the House, influential Senate leaders from both sides are pledging a swift passage of healthcare policy reform. A joint statement was issued recently by Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the HELP Committee, and Senator Max Baucus, Chairman of the Finance Committee. Regarding "reforming the nation's healthcare system" they promised "...to ensure that our committees report similar and complementary legislation that can be quickly merged into one bill for consideration on the Senate floor before the August recess." Experts agree the healthcare industry won't have long to wait before the aggressive changes from Washington become reality.

DTC Perspectives invites you to mark your calendar now for "Reform & Refocus" and plan to attend this important industry event on October 14 - 15, 2009.