CITIZENS NEWS

Big Pharma wants taxpayers to pay for risky obesity drugs – but Medicare can’t afford it

By isabelle // 2024-03-10

Greedy pharmaceutical companies have come up with a new way to ensure the money keeps rolling in for their controversial diabetes drugs that many Americans are taking off label for weight loss: pushing for Medicare subsidies for the drug to make it more affordable for the masses. Drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro are GLP-1 receptor agonists that can help the body better process sugar and regulate dopamine, and studies have shown they can prevent diabetes while reducing weight. These drugs are generally only covered by Medicare Part D and commercial insurers for treating diabetes. Without this coverage, patients seeking to lose weight are often paying around $16,000 a year for it – placing it well out of reach for most Americans, especially when you consider the high prices and inflation that Biden’s economic policies have been put into motion. Novo Nordisk, the makers of Ozempic and Wegovy, made $4.8 billion in the sales of these drugs during the third quarter of 2023 alone. A coalition of healthcare groups started the EveryBODY Covered campaign last month, under the leadership of the Alliance for Women’s Health and Prevention, with the aim of pushing GLP-1 diabetes drugs on as many people as possible and dispelling what they claim are “misunderstandings” about obesity that drive insurance restrictions. And while they may position themselves as a well-meaning group that wants obese people to be treated better, the simple fact is that all they are really trying to do is bring in more profits for Big Pharma. One of the group’s sponsors is Eli Lilly, the maker of the diabetes drug Mounjaro, which is often used for weight loss, and its obesity-specific offering, Zepbound.

Savings on obesity-related healthcare do not outweigh the cost of these drugs

The American healthcare system keeps drug prices unreasonably high, and some argue that all of the healthcare problems that obesity contributes to, such as heart disease, coronary artery disease and stroke, are also very expensive to treat. However, calculations show that making these drugs available to all obese Americans could cost more than $1 trillion a year, far exceeding any savings that would be incurred by reducing the healthcare costs associated with diabetes. In fact, it’s almost the amount the U.S. spends on the entire Medicare program. Not only are these medications prohibitively expensive for many people, but those who take them must continue using them indefinitely if they want the weight to actually stay off. So while addressing obesity could theoretically reduce the prevalence of certain illnesses, these drugs are not a sustainable long-term solution. They also come with a host of side effects, some of which are very serious. A much better – but far less profitable – approach would be educating people on proper diets and caloric intake and communicating the dangers of processed food and sugary beverages. Burning more calories than one consumes is a tried-and-true way to lower weight without taking on the risks of medication and then depending on weekly shots for the rest of your life. With more than 40 percent of Americans currently classified as obese and the number expected to grow, there is no question that the country has an obesity problem. However, in Big Pharma’s rush to bring in more money and obese people’s desperation to get their hands on a “quick fix” to their weight problems, many are overlooking the fact that these groups are sending a very confusing mixed message. On one hand, they insist that there is nothing wrong with people who are morbidly obese and that their weight should be celebrated, but at the same time, they think it’s unfair that obese people with low incomes can’t afford the drug that could rid them of their obesity – even though, according to them, being obese is actually perfectly fine. Of course, they don't care about making sense; they only care about making money. Sources for this article include: TheDailyBell.com NYTimes.com

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