MUMBAI: The US government has passed the Healthcare Reform Bill for the purpose of lowering the cost of healthcare. The bill proposes to cut patent protection to innovator companies from 20 years to 12 years result in higher priority given to generic formulations.

The bill also came through to extend medical insurance to every American and create a government plan to compete with private insurers. It prevents insurers from denying coverage to people with preexisting conditions and would result in 36 mn Americans being covered under medical insurance

Highlights
Bill proposes to spend 1 trillion over 10 years on healthcare
Translates into spending of $ 100 bn per year over next 10 years
Out of $ 100 bn spent on healthcare, drug related spending estimated at 15 % or $ 15 bn
With focus on cost effective healthcare generic pharma players to benefit