Forget Universal Healthcare: Start with Universal Ozempic

[Anonymous]

And then what will our country be like 20 years from now when the long-term effects are then learned? This is like Idiocracy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Or, the gov't could fund TV ads which say that eating too much, and eating the wrong foods, makes you fat and can lead to health problems. But that would imply that people should be responsible for their own actions instead of being bailed out by the government when they make bad choices.

The government allows these horrible "foods" as well as the advertising of them, essentially pushing bad choices in the faces of people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are there no politicians campaigning on free Ozempic for everyone? Literally, 70% of the country is overweight and most people cannot afford to buy GLP-1 weight loss drugs. Ozempic only costs around $5 to produce a month worth of medication. It would cost the US government around 16 billion dollars/year to provide every adult Ozempic. Just make the drug OTC and provide it for free to every adult in the US who can provide their SSN to verify identity. This drug reduces the risk of heart attacks and strokes by almost 20%, likely reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s, lowers risk of cancer and reduces all cause mortality by 10-12%. It makes absolutely no sense that we are not providing it for free to every adult that wants to take it. This policy would save US taxpayers money, while boosting US life expectancy and enhancing quality of life. Any politician who campaigned on free Ozempic would likely win in a landslide and there are many voters that would support the politician solely because they want free weight loss medication.

Don't forget the not insignificant effect it has on alcohol consumption. Ask a person taking GLP-1s how much alcohol they consume on a weekly basis... zero would be the most likely answer. Imagine the long term impact of reduced alcohol consumption not just for individuals but for society at large... imagine a world where drunk driving offenses or alcohol fueled rages, involving fatalities or injuries was greatly reduced. Imagine the people who would never become alcoholics to begin with. But I guess the prison industry, local jailers, bars, liquor stores, wineries, addiction treatment centers, etc., would lose out so it's not gonna happen.

Future formularies will involve subdermal administration in the form of an implant, rather than pesky needles, make it easy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Or, the gov't could fund TV ads which say that eating too much, and eating the wrong foods, makes you fat and can lead to health problems. But that would imply that people should be responsible for their own actions instead of being bailed out by the government when they make bad choices.

Didn’t the GOP have a major freak out when Michelle Obama tried to promote healthy eating?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are there no politicians campaigning on free Ozempic for everyone? Literally, 70% of the country is overweight and most people cannot afford to buy GLP-1 weight loss drugs. Ozempic only costs around $5 to produce a month worth of medication. It would cost the US government around 16 billion dollars/year to provide every adult Ozempic. Just make the drug OTC and provide it for free to every adult in the US who can provide their SSN to verify identity. This drug reduces the risk of heart attacks and strokes by almost 20%, likely reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s, lowers risk of cancer and reduces all cause mortality by 10-12%. It makes absolutely no sense that we are not providing it for free to every adult that wants to take it. This policy would save US taxpayers money, while boosting US life expectancy and enhancing quality of life. Any politician who campaigned on free Ozempic would likely win in a landslide and there are many voters that would support the politician solely because they want free weight loss medication.

and after america thins out, we can have universal maga makeovers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or, the gov't could fund TV ads which say that eating too much, and eating the wrong foods, makes you fat and can lead to health problems. But that would imply that people should be responsible for their own actions instead of being bailed out by the government when they make bad choices.

The government allows these horrible "foods" as well as the advertising of them, essentially pushing bad choices in the faces of people.

The Gov't allows people to choose what to eat. It doesn't force them to do anything. Choices have consequences. People should be responsible for their choices; the government and taxpayers have no responsibility for people who lack self-control or intelligent decision-making capabilities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are there no politicians campaigning on free Ozempic for everyone? Literally, 70% of the country is overweight and most people cannot afford to buy GLP-1 weight loss drugs. Ozempic only costs around $5 to produce a month worth of medication. It would cost the US government around 16 billion dollars/year to provide every adult Ozempic. Just make the drug OTC and provide it for free to every adult in the US who can provide their SSN to verify identity. This drug reduces the risk of heart attacks and strokes by almost 20%, likely reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s, lowers risk of cancer and reduces all cause mortality by 10-12%. It makes absolutely no sense that we are not providing it for free to every adult that wants to take it. This policy would save US taxpayers money, while boosting US life expectancy and enhancing quality of life. Any politician who campaigned on free Ozempic would likely win in a landslide and there are many voters that would support the politician solely because they want free weight loss medication.

So you’re saying the US government should just confiscate the patent and any other rights from the company that developed Ozempic?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or, the gov't could fund TV ads which say that eating too much, and eating the wrong foods, makes you fat and can lead to health problems. But that would imply that people should be responsible for their own actions instead of being bailed out by the government when they make bad choices.

The government allows these horrible "foods" as well as the advertising of them, essentially pushing bad choices in the faces of people.

The Gov't allows people to choose what to eat. It doesn't force them to do anything. Choices have consequences. People should be responsible for their choices; the government and taxpayers have no responsibility for people who lack self-control or intelligent decision-making capabilities.

That's incorrect. Every government has some regulatory power when it comes to food supply, what is and is not allowed. Just look at US regulations v. other countries. And this does affect everyone whether they themselves indulge or not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are there no politicians campaigning on free Ozempic for everyone? Literally, 70% of the country is overweight and most people cannot afford to buy GLP-1 weight loss drugs. Ozempic only costs around $5 to produce a month worth of medication. It would cost the US government around 16 billion dollars/year to provide every adult Ozempic. Just make the drug OTC and provide it for free to every adult in the US who can provide their SSN to verify identity. This drug reduces the risk of heart attacks and strokes by almost 20%, likely reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s, lowers risk of cancer and reduces all cause mortality by 10-12%. It makes absolutely no sense that we are not providing it for free to every adult that wants to take it. This policy would save US taxpayers money, while boosting US life expectancy and enhancing quality of life. Any politician who campaigned on free Ozempic would likely win in a landslide and there are many voters that would support the politician solely because they want free weight loss medication.

Don't forget the not insignificant effect it has on alcohol consumption. Ask a person taking GLP-1s how much alcohol they consume on a weekly basis... zero would be the most likely answer. Imagine the long term impact of reduced alcohol consumption not just for individuals but for society at large... imagine a world where drunk driving offenses or alcohol fueled rages, involving fatalities or injuries was greatly reduced. Imagine the people who would never become alcoholics to begin with. But I guess the prison industry, local jailers, bars, liquor stores, wineries, addiction treatment centers, etc., would lose out so it's not gonna happen.

Future formularies will involve subdermal administration in the form of an implant, rather than pesky needles, make it easy.

Good point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Ozempic only costs around $5 to produce a month worth of medication.

What did the R&D cost? Isn't the manufacturer entitled to recoup that and also make a profit? Most drugs have a very low manufacturing cost, but we wouldn't have them without significant R&D expenses.

And, no, I really don't want the government to be involved in any of this. It's not as if we have the money, anyway, since the budget deficit keeps getting worse.

Ozempic was discovered years ago by Novo Nordisk a Danish company, and officially released in 2017 as only a diabetes treatment. They have subsequently released Wegovy, which is essentially the same thing, though it is optimized for weight loss.

Ozempic costs $125/month in Denmark. Wegovy costs $185/month in Denmark.

Neither drug is covered by the Danish health system unless you are prescribed it because you have diabetes. Wegovy is never covered because it is marketed purely as a weight loss drug.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are there no politicians campaigning on free Ozempic for everyone? Literally, 70% of the country is overweight and most people cannot afford to buy GLP-1 weight loss drugs. Ozempic only costs around $5 to produce a month worth of medication. It would cost the US government around 16 billion dollars/year to provide every adult Ozempic. Just make the drug OTC and provide it for free to every adult in the US who can provide their SSN to verify identity. This drug reduces the risk of heart attacks and strokes by almost 20%, likely reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s, lowers risk of cancer and reduces all cause mortality by 10-12%. It makes absolutely no sense that we are not providing it for free to every adult that wants to take it. This policy would save US taxpayers money, while boosting US life expectancy and enhancing quality of life. Any politician who campaigned on free Ozempic would likely win in a landslide and there are many voters that would support the politician solely because they want free weight loss medication.

So you’re saying the US government should just confiscate the patent and any other rights from the company that developed Ozempic?

I think what maybe OP is suggesting is that the US government fork over a one-time payment to Novo Nordisk to compensate them for the remaining term on the patent, as a societal/strategic good of the country.

GLP-1s will become as cheap as statins...it's a given. Once these drugs come off-patent, you will be able to get for free or like maybe $10/month.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Verify identity? Should we give it to illegals too?

LOL, you're never about the solutions, you're only about the "problems." Carry on about economics but can't be bothered with cost-benefit analysis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Ozempic only costs around $5 to produce a month worth of medication.

What did the R&D cost? Isn't the manufacturer entitled to recoup that and also make a profit? Most drugs have a very low manufacturing cost, but we wouldn't have them without significant R&D expenses.

And, no, I really don't want the government to be involved in any of this. It's not as if we have the money, anyway, since the budget deficit keeps getting worse.

Gotta keep sending those $20 billion handouts to Argentina!

And 50 million payouts to Michael Flynn and J6 folks etc.

People with severe allergies without health insurance are also dying because they can't afford epi pens. There's a lot of basic health care that Americans are lacking--we're so far behind any rich country in terms of health care outcomes.

[Anonymous]

Agree, OP.

Forget AI, automated cars, and all that other tech bro junk. GLP1 is the single greatest invention of the 21st century thus far. It could save millions of years ofife, dramatically improve the quality of life by removing disease burden and save countries trillions of dollars in healthcare costs over the over the long run.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree, OP.

Forget AI, automated cars, and all that other tech bro junk. GLP1 is the single greatest invention of the 21st century thus far. It could save millions of years ofife, dramatically improve the quality of life by removing disease burden and save countries trillions of dollars in healthcare costs over the over the long run.

It sounds like you want the US to have universal health care, which would be wonderful for everyone. Then most people who need it could get GLP1.

We need this much more than wifi enabled appliances.