How much would you pay for cheap Ozempic? Does $35 billion sound about right?

Photo above - Progressive filmmaker Michael Moore believes American healthcare should be 100% free. He has made several (for profit) movies advancing this theory. The Biden administration this week proposed subsidizing the weight loss drug Ozempic. Is this an example of synergy, or reciprocity?

Yesterday several internet sites reported that 208 million Americans are obese or overweight. That’s two thirds of America. The report didn’t do a deep dive on the percentage of politicians, videogame coders, food stamp recipients etc. who are afflicted. But these tropes come to mind only because we’ve all seen the problem.

The Biden administration has a solution. They are rushing through a $35 BILLION (with a B) subsidy for cheap or free Ozempic. But since the election has been over for a month, is this really necessary?

Wait – it gets weirder. Ozempic isn’t even made in America. It’s under patent by Novo Norodisk, a Danish company. That’s a country you don’t normally associate with fat people, so why did they pour money into inventing Ozempic in the first place? They must have had the US market in mind all along. Possibly Mexico too?

In any case Ozempic may soon be dirt cheap. But how expensive is it if you DON’T have insurance? Um . .. $968 for a single dose. Yikes – not a misprint. See second link below.

So who's the target population for free Ozempic? Fat Americans with no health insurance? Aren’t we already giving Obamacare coverage away at cut rate prices? Do we have to give Ozempic away too, because insurance won't pay for drugs which are prescribed “off label” - to treat things the drug was never tested/approved for? Is obesity a disease? Is it caused by poor choices when dialing Door Dash? Getting zero exercise? Too much time watching TV or playing videogames?

With all the challenges facing America, I simply can’t believe we suddenly need to throw $35 billion into weight loss subsidies to that uninsured fat people can try to slim down. That money isn’t even going to end up as profits for an American company. It’s going straight to Denmark. Who the hell thought THIS was a good idea?

I’m just sayin’ . . .

Cheap Ozempic? How millions of Americans with obesity may get access to costly weight-loss drugs

How Much Does Ozempic Cost Without Insurance?

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wildbill83 · 41-45, M

anyone who touts "free healthcare" should automatically have their tax bracket bumped to the highest tier...

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@wildbill83 thats not me. it's the party in power

wildbill83 · 41-45, M

@SusanInFlorida I know... but there's always half a dozen commenters that show up to talk about their country's "free healthcare" that are completely oblivious

it would be interesting to see an audit/itemized breakdown of the costs of services and medications in NHS systems; as with anything else government subsidized, I think it's safe to assume that caregivers are charging considerably more than a standard market system.

Medicaid does it too; if you're uninsured, many private practices/clinics will bill you a fraction of what they bill to medicaid (if government/tax payers are picking up the tab, they'll squeeze every dime they can get out of it).

As such, making "free" healthcare more widely available and/or giving universal healthcare isn't going to solve any problems; it's only compounding the underlying problem; greedy healthcare providers and billionaire pharmaceutical execs. They're providing services and medications that cost them next to nothing, then charging a 10,000% markup just because they can get away with it...

wildbill83 · 41-45, M

There is very little regulation/oversight on healthcare "costs" in any country (any regulators that do exist are most likely in pocket of the companies they're supposed to regulate) ; and there's certainly no reasonable price cap on what providers can charge for services and medications, which is downright criminal when it comes to medications people need to even survive

It's basically run like a cartel; control the supply & distribution, eliminate the competition, bribe/extort government oversight, then sell whatever they want for however much they want.

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@wildbill83 the biggest complaint with the britain's NHS system:

"my bed was in the hallway due to overcrowding"

"I can't get my hernia operation scheduled for 2 years because it's not life threatening"

"It smells like urine in here"