Richard D. Kocur

Columnist.

Richard D. Kocur is an assistant professor of business at Grove City College. He specializes in marketing and business strategy, and has over 25 years of experience in the healthcare industry.

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The ObamaCare Tipping Point

October 29, 2016

It's that time of year again. Time for vibrant fall colors, cool crisp morning air, and open enrollment in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) insurance exchanges — the government-regulated, state-based healthcare plans set up as part of the act. Since the ACA's first open enrollment period in the fall of 2013, millions of Americans have opted-in to the government healthcare plan otherwise known as Obamacare. This year, however, represents a tipping point for the future direction of socialized healthcare in the United States.

A Prescription for Disaster

For those who may be unfamiliar with the players in the pharmaceutical business, Mylan is a successful, mid-sized manufacturer of branded and generic drugs. One of their largest products is the EpiPen, which is an auto-injection device used to treat potentially fatal allergic reactions via a quick dose of the drug epinephrine. The company and its CEO are under fire for a recent price increase of the product. In fact, the furor surrounding the price increase of Mylan's EpiPen has reached critical mass. Since Congress likes nothing more than to jump on the bandwagon of public outrage, the House of Representatives has entered the conversation of "outrageous" prescription drug pricing. The national legislature doesn't just intend to talk about how Americans are being gouged by big pharmaceutical corporations, however, it intends to do what it does best: legislate the problem away.

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