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High priced weight-loss drugs could bankrupt US healthcare

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Neu California
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High priced weight-loss drugs could bankrupt US healthcare

Postby Neu California » Fri May 17, 2024 5:25 pm

Ars Technica wrote:With the debut of remarkably effective weight-loss drugs, America's high obesity rate and its uniquely astronomical prescription drug pricing appear to be set on a catastrophic collision course—one that threatens to "bankrupt our entire health care system," according to a new Senate report that modeled the economic impact of the drugs in different uptake scenarios.

If just half of the adults in the US with obesity start taking a new weight-loss drug, such as Wegovy, the collective cost would total an estimated $411 billion per year, the analysis found. That's more than the $406 billion Americans spent in 2022 on all prescription drugs combined.
While the bulk of the spending on weight-loss drugs will occur in the commercial market—which could easily lead to spikes in health insurance premiums—taxpayer-funded Medicare and Medicaid programs will also see an extraordinary financial burden. In the scenario that half of adults with obesity go on the drug, the cost to those federal programs would total $166 billion per year, rivaling the programs' total 2022 drug costs of $175 billion.

In all, by 2031, total US spending on prescription drugs is poised to reach over $1 trillion per year due to weight-loss drugs. Without them, the baseline projected spending on all prescription drugs would be just under $600 billion.

The analysis was put together by the Senate's Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) committee, chaired by staunch drug-pricing critic Bernie Sanders (I-Vt). And it's quick to knock down a common argument about the high prices for smash-hit weight-loss drugs. That is, with their high effectiveness, the drugs will improve people's health in wide-ranging ways, including controlling diabetes, improving cardiovascular health, and potentially more. And, with those improvements, people won't need as much health care, generally, lowering health care costs across the board.

But, while the drugs do appear to have wide-ranging, life-altering benefits for overall health, the prices of the drugs are still set too high to be entirely offset by any savings in health care use. The HELP committee analysis cited a March Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report that found: "at their current prices, [anti-obesity medicines] would cost the federal government more than it would save from reducing other health care spending—which would lead to an overall increase in the deficit over the next 10 years." Moreover, in April, the head of the CBO said that the drugmakers would have to slash prices of their weight-loss drugs by 90 percent to "get in the ballpark" of not increasing the national deficit.
The HELP committee report offered a relatively simple solution to the problem: Drugmakers should set their US prices to match the relatively low prices they've set in other countries. The report focused on Wegovy because it currently accounts for the most US prescriptions in the new class of weight-loss drugs (GLP-1 drugs). Wegovy is made by Denmark-based Novo Nordisk.

In the US, the estimated net price (after rebates) of Wegovy is $809 per month. In Denmark, the price is $186 per month. A study by researchers at Yale estimated that drugs like Wegovy can be profitably manufactured for less than $5 per month.

If Novo Nordisk set its US prices for Wegovy to match the Danish price, spending to treat half of US adults with obesity would drop from $411 billion to $94.5 billion, a roughly $316.5 billion savings.

Without a dramatic price cut, Americans will likely face either losing access to the drugs or shouldering higher overall health care costs, or some of both. The HELP committee report highlighted how this recently played out in North Carolina. In January, the board of trustees for the state employee health plan voted to end all coverage of Wegovy and other GLP-1 drugs due to the cost. Estimates found that if the plan continued to cover the drugs, the state would need to nearly double health insurance premiums to offset the costs.


For reference, and in case anyone misses it in the article, Ozempic and Wegovy cost somewhere between 89 cents and five dollars to make a one-month supply of, yet costs Americans around $1000 a month to get.

Knowing that, what should be done to ensure these drugs don't bankrupt Medicare and Medicaid?

Obviously, I suggest a price cap, say $50 a month, ten times more than enough than enough to be profitable, but still well within the means of the average person and well below what it would need to cost to make sure that it doesn't bankrupt US healthcare. The ridiculous gouging is obviously a serious problem ($809 with rebates in the US vs. $186 in Denmark is just a ridiculously large gap that can't be explained by anything but greed. Prove otherwise), and something needs to be done.
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Solsbury
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Postby Solsbury » Wed Jan 15, 2025 6:42 am

The cost of weight-loss drugs like Wegovy could exceed $400 billion annually if half of U.S. adults with obesity use them. This would strain Medicare, Medicaid, and insurance premiums, putting a huge burden on the healthcare system.

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Solsbury
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Postby Solsbury » Wed Jan 15, 2025 7:00 am

These weight-loss drugs are crazy expensive, and honestly, if this keeps up, it could really put a strain on the healthcare system. People want help, but it shouldn’t come at the cost of draining resources. If we’re not careful, the whole system could be in trouble, with the most vulnerable people suffering. It’s a tough situation, especially when there are cheaper, less invasive options out there, like lifestyle changes, that could do the trick. Some folks might even turn to places like Steroids Canada to find more affordable alternatives, but it’s all about balance.
Last edited by Solsbury on Tue Jan 21, 2025 7:16 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Postby Floofybit » Wed Jan 15, 2025 7:16 am

Put them in drinking water. Eliminate the obesity epidemic immediately.
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Lecceland
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Postby Lecceland » Wed Jan 15, 2025 8:13 am

Or, maybe, instead of drugging people, you could encourage them to do exercise? Maybe make the PE programs focus on actual fitness instead of just team sports? Maybe put a warning when foods contain ungodly amounts of sugar to discourage customers who are concerned about their health?

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Adamede
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Postby Adamede » Wed Jan 15, 2025 8:18 am

Lecceland wrote:Or, maybe, instead of drugging people, you could encourage them to do exercise? Maybe make the PE programs focus on actual fitness instead of just team sports? Maybe put a warning when foods contain ungodly amounts of sugar to discourage customers who are concerned about their health?

We already do these things. Do you really think that overweight people aren’t aware that junk food and lack of exercise builds fat?

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Paddy O Fernature
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Postby Paddy O Fernature » Wed Jan 15, 2025 8:18 am

Or simply don't cover them and make them 100% pay out of pocket.

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Postby Lecceland » Wed Jan 15, 2025 8:20 am

Adamede wrote:
Lecceland wrote:Or, maybe, instead of drugging people, you could encourage them to do exercise? Maybe make the PE programs focus on actual fitness instead of just team sports? Maybe put a warning when foods contain ungodly amounts of sugar to discourage customers who are concerned about their health?

We already do these things. Do you really think that overweight people aren’t aware that junk food and lack of exercise builds fat?
If they are aware and keep doing it, it is no longer the state's issue. The state is only responsible of making sure they know what they are doing.

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Postby Adamede » Wed Jan 15, 2025 8:21 am

Lecceland wrote:
Adamede wrote:We already do these things. Do you really think that overweight people aren’t aware that junk food and lack of exercise builds fat?
If they are aware and keep doing it, it is no longer the state's issue. The state is only responsible of making sure they know what they are doing.

I don’t disagree necessarily, however I’m just posting g out the disconnect from reality that was your comment.

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Port Carverton
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Postby Port Carverton » Wed Jan 15, 2025 8:31 am

I suggest anyone over 300 lb is banned from receiving healthcare

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Lecceland
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Postby Lecceland » Wed Jan 15, 2025 8:48 am

Port Carverton wrote:I suggest anyone over 300 lb is banned from receiving healthcare
I suggest everyone is banned from receiving healthcare to save additional budget.

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Emotional Support Crocodile
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Postby Emotional Support Crocodile » Wed Jan 15, 2025 9:02 am

Do they estimate what this would bring in terms of increased productivity and a healthier population?
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Paddy O Fernature
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Postby Paddy O Fernature » Wed Jan 15, 2025 9:11 am

Emotional Support Crocodile wrote:Do they estimate what this would bring in terms of increased productivity and a healthier population?


I doubt very much as I foresee fat bodies everywhere slobbering down on a double McFat burger with a large diabetes in cup in one hand while in the other injecting themselves with this.

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Postby Indecent Anime Empire » Wed Jan 15, 2025 9:15 am

Doesn't Ozempic reduce hunger chemicals from being received in the brain?

US healthcare is a joke but these comments are funnier.




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Postby Floofybit » Wed Jan 15, 2025 9:55 am

Emotional Support Crocodile wrote:Do they estimate what this would bring in terms of increased productivity and a healthier population?

No. If you want to achieve something, you have to stay hungry.
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Postby Kerwa » Wed Jan 15, 2025 11:42 am

Floofybit wrote:
Emotional Support Crocodile wrote:Do they estimate what this would bring in terms of increased productivity and a healthier population?

No. If you want to achieve something, you have to stay hungry.


What if you want to win the Nathan’s hot dog eating competition?

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Postby The Black Forrest » Wed Jan 15, 2025 11:44 am

Paddy O Fernature wrote:Or simply don't cover them and make them 100% pay out of pocket.


What about the diabetics?
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Postby Floofybit » Wed Jan 15, 2025 11:55 am

Kerwa wrote:
Floofybit wrote:No. If you want to achieve something, you have to stay hungry.


What if you want to win the Nathan’s hot dog eating competition?

Suck it up and deal with it.
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USHALLNOTPASS
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Postby USHALLNOTPASS » Wed Jan 15, 2025 1:20 pm

Indecent Anime Empire wrote:Doesn't Ozempic reduce hunger chemicals from being received in the brain?

US healthcare is a joke but these comments are funnier.

Ozempic, originally a 2nd line diabetes medication, works in weightloss by essentially slowing down your gut.
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Postby Free Land of The Free Land of Freedo » Wed Jan 15, 2025 1:25 pm

Lecceland wrote:Or, maybe, instead of drugging people, you could encourage them to do exercise? Maybe make the PE programs focus on actual fitness instead of just team sports? Maybe put a warning when foods contain ungodly amounts of sugar to discourage customers who are concerned about their health?


This doesn't work, and has been shown not to work over and over again. When surrounded by food the vast majority of us eat too much of it and get fat.
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USHALLNOTPASS
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Postby USHALLNOTPASS » Wed Jan 15, 2025 1:34 pm

The fucked up part is that a lot of drugs are developed from publicly funded research - and a lot of the trials that expand a drug’s indications get their funding from government grants. You’d think this would mean that states would be able to manufacture generics or allow the manufacture of generics willy nilly, but companies essentially have monopolies over those meds for a while
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Postby Kostane » Wed Jan 15, 2025 1:38 pm

Note that it's not going to bankrupt US healthcare companies. They'll keep making insane profits off of government money.
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Postby Ifreann » Wed Jan 15, 2025 1:43 pm

Paddy O Fernature wrote:Or simply don't cover them and make them 100% pay out of pocket.

That would cost hundreds of billions of dollars. It's right there at the start of the article.
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USHALLNOTPASS
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Postby USHALLNOTPASS » Wed Jan 15, 2025 1:45 pm

Ifreann wrote:
Paddy O Fernature wrote:Or simply don't cover them and make them 100% pay out of pocket.

That would cost hundreds of billions of dollars. It's right there at the start of the article.

Ifreann you fool, if they die of heart attacks at age 50, they can’t cost any more money
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Postby Ifreann » Wed Jan 15, 2025 1:46 pm

USHALLNOTPASS wrote:
Ifreann wrote:That would cost hundreds of billions of dollars. It's right there at the start of the article.

Ifreann you fool, if they die of heart attacks at age 50, they can’t cost any more money

Revolutionary new healthcare plan: Free cigarettes starting from age 12 and bring back leaded paint.
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