ArsT: “Outrageously” priced weight-loss drugs could bankrupt US health care

[China]

“Outrageously” priced weight-loss drugs could bankrupt US health care

 

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.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[ixcuincle]

**** big pharma 

[Fergasun]

This seems stupid... because the corralary is "fat Americans cost health care $1T a year".

[Jumbo]

3 minutes ago, ixcuincle said:

**** big pharma 

 

 

That's the kind of anti-american anti-capitalist anti-free market sentiment I expect from you radical lib commie degenerates. 

 

As soon as I get my "Real Men Wear Diapers" Depends with the American flag on the front  and picture of President Trump on the back I'm driving my diesel-modded monster-tire dodge ram proudly flying eight flags of god-loving atheist-hating patriotism over to your crash pad to give you the finger.

 

[Califan007 The Constipated]

Would it be cheaper to pay obese Americans to lose weight on their own? lol...

[PeterMP]

26 minutes ago, Califan007 The Constipated said:

Would it be cheaper to pay obese Americans to lose weight on their own? lol...

 

The problem is once people gain weight it is very hard to lose.  The metabolic system really does rewire itself to keep that weight on and that includes signals and impulses sent to the brain which resisting causes stress (it is stressful to go around felling hungry even if you are overweight) which can contribute to other problems.  There are people that want to lose weight that can't because of the metabolic and signaling rewiring that has happened.

 

Paying people to not get obese would make sense.  Taxes on sugar and processed food and limiting advertising as was done for smoking and to a less extent alcohol also make a lot of sense.  (Though those are politically more difficult.)

[PeterMP]

I understand people don't like big pharma.  But I'm having a hard time blaming them for this issue.  I guess there is some over lap between them and the food industry, but at some level, this is the result of personal choice, stupidity, and political will.

[Riggo-toni]

Yeah, I blame the food industry more for this, but people have to stop making stupid choices.

[Larry]

"Who do we blame for obesity" is one thing. 

 

But folks, a "free market" where the price for something (and something that can directly impact how long you live, at that), can vary, in at least some cases by a factor of over 20:1, depending on "do you have insurance?" "Did the insurance company put you on List X or List Y?", "what country are you in?", "which companydo you work for?", or "do you give us permission to sell your medical onformation?" Might be a factor, too. 

[Jumbo]

In many cases personal choice plays large, as does the food industry via the high sodium,  high fat, high calorie, poor nutrition crap that provides the bulk of affordable food accessible to poorer communities/areas.

 

All which makes for a great profit op for big pharma.

 

Plenty of responsibility to go around individually and collectively as a society.

 

Yay humanity. 👽

[TradeTheBeal!]

Banana pudding is crazy delicious.

[PleaseBlitz]

I’m not (yet) fat enough to qualify for a wegovy prescription, cause I tried. 
 

There also isn’t a black market yet, as far as I can tell. 

[Jumbo]

40 minutes ago, PleaseBlitz said:

 

There also isn’t a black market yet, as far as I can tell. 

 

I can hook you up bro. 

 

[Renegade7]

2 hours ago, Riggo-toni said:

Yeah, I blame the food industry more for this, but people have to stop making stupid choices.

 

The cheapest quickest food to get and feed our families with is typically the worst for us. 

 

It's unnerving that fast food is now getting more expensive but I haven't seen stats that have shown a shift in our behaviors, which begs the question how many people in this country actually know how to cook vs jus pop something in the oven that feeds everyone quickly as possible.

 

I'm all for personal responsibility on this matter, as long as it's kept honest, such as this food desert thing that needs to be reckoned with.  It can't jus all be on us, healthier options need to be easier (because we don't all know how to cook) and more affordable.

 

Then I will support hard limits on what can be purchased via SNAP as part of enforcement in this direction.

[Califan007 The Constipated]

4 hours ago, PeterMP said:

 

The problem is once people gain weight it is very hard to lose.  The metabolic system really does rewire itself to keep that weight on and that includes signals and impulses sent to the brain which resisting causes stress (it is stressful to go around felling hungry even if you are overweight) which can contribute to other problems.  There are people that want to lose weight that can't because of the metabolic and signaling rewiring that has happened.

 

Paying people to not get obese would make sense.  Taxes on sugar and processed food and limiting advertising as was done for smoking and to a less extent alcohol also make a lot of sense.  (Though those are politically more difficult.)

 

I thought the “lol” gave it away lol 😐…

[CousinsCowgirl84]

Time to increase the tax on coke and Big Macs to pay for it. Really, “**** big pharma” sound cool but is ultimately stupid.
 

Big pharma is what is saving your fat ass from high blood pressure and heart disease.

[tshile]

So what is the appropriate price for the drug?

 

how much was spent on r&d?

[PeterMP]

2 hours ago, Renegade7 said:

 

The cheapest quickest food to get and feed our families with is typically the worst for us. 

 

This just isn't true unless you live in a food desert.  Many non-organic fruits are still relatively cheap in grocery stores and are ready to eat with a wash or a peel.  Unsalted nuts come out of a jar ready to eat, aren't that expensive, and are good for you (unless you eat too much).  Whole wheat bread isn't that bad for you and isn't that expensive.  Things like bags of frozen peas and corn are relatively cheap and a good sized serving requires 45 seconds in a microwave.

 

There are people where that's true.  But it is the minority of Americans.  There are some people your statement is true for, and I'm sympathetic to those people.  But it is the minority of Americans.

Edited May 19 by PeterMP

[Renegade7]

18 minutes ago, PeterMP said:

 

This just isn't true unless you live in a food desert.  Many non-organic fruits are still relatively cheap in grocery stores and are ready to eat with a wash or a peel.  Unsalted nuts come out of a jar ready to eat, aren't that expensive, and are good for you (unless you eat too much).  Whole wheat bread isn't that bad for you and isn't that expensive.  Things like bags of frozen peas and corn are relatively cheap and a good sized serving requires 45 seconds in a microwave.

 

There are people where that's true.  But it is the minority of Americans.

 

Nothing you listed is a meal for a family.

 

And when you say "minority of Americans" does that include people that live in its capital city?

 

 

https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-access-research-atlas/go-to-the-atlas.aspx#.UUDMojfNkS8

 

https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-access-research-atlas/documentation/

 

What bothers me about this conversation and research on it is there being so many different  statistics to speak to this, enough that it's probably not helping to clarify the scope of this problem.  Especially when it gets thrown together with terms like food insecurity (which is a different problem entirely).

 

Let's say 10%-20% live in these areas, in the context of 330 million people in this country try, that's not a small number, that's millions.  It adds up and hard to believe it isn't directly having an impact on our healthcare system.

 

  And it doesn't speak to the number of people who fit jus out of this designation coupled with impact of inflation lately.

 

Folks need help, enough that bills are being sponsored to convince the private sector to step in via incentives:

 

https://sykes.house.gov/media/press-releases/reps-sykes-mcclellan-introduce-bill-improve-access-healthy-foods-eliminate

 

I can't get down with jus telling people to "make better decisions" and look away like thats enough to resolve this issue.

[Califan007 The Constipated]

19 hours ago, PeterMP said:

 

This just isn't true unless you live in a food desert.  Many non-organic fruits are still relatively cheap in grocery stores and are ready to eat with a wash or a peel.  Unsalted nuts come out of a jar ready to eat, aren't that expensive, and are good for you (unless you eat too much).  Whole wheat bread isn't that bad for you and isn't that expensive.  Things like bags of frozen peas and corn are relatively cheap and a good sized serving requires 45 seconds in a microwave.

 

There are people where that's true.  But it is the minority of Americans.  There are some people your statement is true for, and I'm sympathetic to those people.  But it is the minority of Americans.

 

"Many non-organic fruits are still relatively cheap in grocery stores and are ready to eat with a wash or a peel."

 

Define "relatively cheap"...because "cheap" to one person is nowhere near "cheap" to another. Last week I bought one package of strawberries, one package of raspberries, one package of blueberries, and one bag of red grapes. $11 for fruit. And that's just for me alone. Some people's food budgets for their family are like $60 for the week...they damn sure ain't spending close to 25% of their weekly budget on fruit.

 

"Unsalted nuts come out of a jar ready to eat, aren't that expensive"

 

Again, define "aren't that expensive"...because you can buy like 12 packages of ramen noodles for less than a jar of healthy nuts lol...

Edited May 19 by Califan007 The Constipated

[Hersh]

38 minutes ago, CousinsCowgirl84 said:

Time to increase the tax on coke and Big Macs to pay for it.

 

yes and no. A huge problem, no pun intended, is portion sizes at almost all restaurants in this country. Cutting serving sizes would do far more than raising taxes on sugary stuff. 

[Renegade7]

1 minute ago, Hersh said:

 

yes and no. A huge problem, no pun intended, is portion sizes at almost all restaurants in this country. Cutting serving sizes would do far more than raising taxes on sugary stuff. 

 

Eh...

 

McDonalds got rid of super-sized almost 20 years ago...shrinkflation is also a real thing.

 

Yet this problem has been continuing to get worse.

 

I'll accept a multiple front attack on a multiple front issue.  Companies should try to figure out how to make their food healthier or it be more clear how unhealthy they really are. 

 

Calorie counting every menu option I dont believe does what's finally purchased justice, you dont go to McDonalds to count calories.

 

Increasing pricing for unhealthy foods and dripping prices for healthy foods doesn't sound crazy to me.

 

Opinion.

[tshile]

14 minutes ago, Renegade7 said:

 

I can't get down with jus telling people to "make better decisions" and look away like thats enough to resolve this issue.

Generally I think “being poor” explains a lot of what’s behind certain decisions and behaviors. Which is why generally I think it’s a good idea we combat proverty. 
 

However. I see a **** ton of people that can afford the same ****ing food we eat (my wife shops at Walmart. I ****ing hate it but that’s where she gets groceries) and be healthy. They choose not to. 

[Hersh]

1 minute ago, Renegade7 said:

 

Eh...

 

McDonalds got rid of super-sized almost 20 years ago...shrinkflation is also a real thing.

 

Yet this problem has been continuing to get worse.

 

I'll accept a multiple front attack on a multiple front issue.  Companies should try to figure out how to make their food healthier or it be more clear how unhealthy they really are. 

 

Calorie counting every menu option I dont believe does what's finally purchased justice, you dont go to McDonalds to count calories.

 

Increasing pricing for unhealthy foods and dripping prices for healthy foods doesn't sound crazy to me.

 

Opinion.

 

People go to chipotle to "eat heathy" and the serving sizes are enormous. Same happens at a lot of places regardless of whether it's actually healthy or not. 

[tshile]

Oh and anyone can exercise. That’s not a poverty thing either. 
 

and anyone who says they’re too busy is really just saying they don’t care enough to prioritize it (single mother working multiple jobs excluded)

 

Just now, Hersh said:

 

People go to chipotle to "eat heathy" and the serving sizes are enormous. Same happens at a lot of places regardless of whether it's actually healthy or not. 

I’m generally a person that thinks the government should leave you alone and you can make your own choices.

 

and even I think NYC had a point in banning large soda drinks. 
 

like what the **** are you people doing drinking a 32 oz sofa for lunch 

 

you need serious intervention