Advocates say that some plans offered through the Obamacare online insurance exchanges are offering skimpy drug coverage for expensive conditions like AIDS, cancer and other chronic conditions, The Washington Post reports. One advocate, John Peller, vice president of policy for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, told The Post: '“The fear is that they are putting discriminatory plan designs into place to try to deter certain people from enrolling by not covering the medications they need, or putting policies in place that make them jump through hoops to get care.'"
The issues are, advocates told The Post, that: "The plans are curbing their lists of covered drugs and limiting quantities, requiring prior authorizations and insisting on 'fail first' or 'step therapy' protocols that compel doctors to prescribe a certain drug first before moving on to another — even if it’s not the physician’s and patient’s drug of choice."
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