Prescription drugs such as Ozempic can cost as much as $1,350 a month, making it a big cost for health insurers. (Getty Images)
As Americans increasingly turn to diabetes-related drugs to help non-diabetics lose weight, more employers are telling workers to eat salads instead.
Prescription drugs such as Ozempic can cost up to $1,350 a month, generating tens of millions of dollars in revenue for health insurance companies.
In response, some employers are excluding injection coverage from their employees’ health insurance.
wall street journal give an example The cost of weight loss drugs in the University of Texas system has more than tripled to about $5 million in the past year and a half.
The system has announced that it will stop reporting shootings to employees starting September 1.
In a newsletter, the university said paying for drugs was “unsustainable given current prescription drug spending rates.”
This is the latest example of a big pharma introducing (or repurposing) a blockbuster drug while trying to make huge profits at a super-high price.
Likewise, this is another example of insurance plans covering those costs by telling patients to fend for themselves.
This is the economics of the for-profit health system.
Will the Medicare for All approach make a difference? The answer is yes.
Instead of thousands of health plans trying to make their own deals with drug companies and other health care providers, it’s time for hundreds of millions of Americans to use their market power to get the best deals for their patients. because you will have a single program that represents the
This is how economic peers with single payer insurance systems do it. They level the playing field by representing the entire population in setting reasonable medical prices.
Not all drugs and treatments should necessarily be covered. Some treatments may be experimental. In addition, it may not be possible to significantly improve existing options and guarantee high prices.
But at least it will give you a fairer sense than the perception that many people on employer-driven plans are paying high premiums because of reduced coverage.
Regardless, this new weight-loss drug is just a shortcut for those who lack the patience and stamina for long-term dieting and exercise.
Its popularity is spurred by influencers and celebrities promoting off-brand use of prescription drugs developed for an entirely different purpose (diabetes).
They are generally the people who can afford these expensive drugs.
Not to mention most other people can’t do that. And so are their employers.
