Staff Reports
The latest move by the Biden administration could be dubbed “Let’s Make Some Corporations Even Richer” as they roll out a massive budget-busting subsidy for weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro. In a classic case of government and big pharma cozying up in a back room, the administration aims to reclassify these drugs as essential providers for health care plans such as Medicare and Medicaid. This decision, made with as much foresight as a blindfolded squirrel crossing the street, is about to send the cost of healthcare skyrocketing to the moon.
For three years, the pharmaceutical oligarchs have been licking their chops, waiting for this moment. Since the FDA was generous enough to bless semaglutide for weight loss in 2021, it seems like the corporate lobbyists have finally struck gold. The cost? Just a measly $39.6 billion over the next ten years, give or take a few billion—after all, who’s counting when it’s taxpayer money on the line?
🚨 Major Health Reform Incoming:
• Biden admin to cover weight loss drugs under Medicare/Medicaid
• Drugs include Wegovy, Ozempic, Mounjaro
• Costs to fall from $1K/month to affordable rates
• $25B Medicare, $11B Medicaid over 10 years pic.twitter.com/DeqbQOAJIU— Los Angeles Magazine (@LAmag) November 26, 2024
Experts who seem to pop up wherever corporate interests align claim that obesity is the new chronic health condition that’s apparently best treated with a lifelong supply of pricey injections, each costing more than a used car. The new framing suggests that it’s not individuals’ responsibility to get healthy—oh no—it’s just easier for the government to shove patients onto these drugs than encourage lifestyle changes. Because nothing says “I care about your health” like a monthly bill exceeding $1000 handed over to a pharmaceutical giant.
This proposal to broaden these coverage options will do more than just serve the interests of the food and drug industry. It’ll also deepen the wallets of the bureaucratic overlords in the Department of Health and Human Services, who seem all too eager to gift public funds while keeping the taxpaying classes oblivious. With the promise of cushy retirements on boards of directors waiting in the wings, it seems healthcare “reform” is really a pay-to-play game benefitting the politically connected.
In yet another round of astonishing financial acrobatics, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services has jumped on the obesity train, cheerfully proffering coverages that will shake dollars out of taxpayers’ pockets to line the pockets of major drug companies. The only saving grace seems to be that public commentary will be entertained; however, let’s be honest, the train has already left the station, and that train is powered by corporate cash.
As the debate rages over the supposed health benefits, one glaring truth remains: this is not about caring for the well-being of Americans. It’s about cashing in on a systemic failure to promote health and wellness by way of medication instead of the obvious solutions. With a mere steely stroke of a pen, one reform could dismantle this disaster within months, but until then, taxpayers simply wait for the next round of pharmaceuticals to blow their budget wide open.
