Universal healthcare remains a hotly debated topic as the country prepares for a new executive administration. Already future Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Daschle has pointed to public access of generic medicines as an integral part of the solution, to the approval of the Generic Pharmaceutical Association. Today, the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) released its “critical principles” toward universal healthcare, with an emphasis on innovation in therapies and diagnostics.

According to BIO, a meaningful healthcare proposal must include three principles: The nation’s public policy goal should be universal access to affordable, high-quality health care for all Americans; innovation in healthcare, including healthcare solutions such as new therapies and diagnostics, has always been and will continue to be central to realizing our health and economic goals; and market-based solutions are essential for maintaining the conditions that have led to America’s leadership position in health care innovation.

True to these principles, BIO states that “patients should have access to the most appropriate treatments regardless of cost, and it should be up to patients and their physicians to determine the best treatment.”

It is difficult to determine exactly what “regardless of cost” means, because the statement doesn’t directly discuss the Generic elephant in the room. Of course most people would agree patients should have access to the most appropriate treatment, but will this lead to over-inflated costs, including those for innovative therapies?