Healthcare Profits Soar as Americans Die

 

      Self-reported obesity statistics (percent of adults) in 2022 per CDC

Healthcare Profits Soar as Americans Die

The US is the only developed country on earth without national healthcare

That we are a nation that, unlike virtually all other developed nations, have three distinguishing features to our healthcare: we pay double on average what our contemporaries in other developed nations pay for the same services and more for prescription drugs, we do not have universal healthcare, and our life expectancy is declining. By any metric, our healthcare system is a failure for tens of millions of Americans. If there is one health factor that could make a significant difference in our national wellness, it is the reduction of obesity across the land.

“Addressing obesity is critical because it is associated with a range of diseases, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, sleep apnea, and some cancers. Obesity is estimated to increase U.S. healthcare spending by $170 billion annually (including billions by Medicare and Medicaid).” The Trust for American Health, 2023 Report. And now, with new pharmaceutical treatments available – since Americans seem unwilling to diet and exercise their way to a healthy weight – the existing prescription drugs are often not covered for weight loss and have an exorbitant price point.

“Pharmaceutical executives from Amgen (AMGN.O) to Pfizer (PFE.N), are plotting to break into the lucrative obesity market by developing or cutting deals to acquire better drugs that will compete with Novo Nordisk's (NOVOb.CO) Wegovy and Zepbound from Eli Lilly (LLY.N) .

“At stake is a market that is now estimated to reach $100 billion at a minimum by the end of the decade, as consumers flock to the new treatments that have been shown to reduce weight by as much as 20%. Drugmakers are also testing these drugs for other health benefits such as lowering cardiovascular disease risk and obstructive sleep apnea.” Reuters, January 11th.

These drugs can cost hundreds of dollars a month, way, way above what consumers in other developed nations pay. According to a report covered by the Yale School of Medicine (April 23rd), “For years, Kasia Lipaka, MD, MHS, associate professor of medicine (endocrinology) at Yale School of Medicine (YSM), has been advocating for affordable pricing of insulin, an essential — and sometimes lifesaving—drug for many individuals with diabetes. Now, she is turning her attention to a similar trend of soaring prices among new diabetes and obesity medications.

“The implications of exorbitant prices for these novel therapies are alarming, according to Lipska, who first became aware of the drug pricing issue in 2016 when one of her patients couldn’t afford to increase the dose of insulin she was taking. In subsequent research, Lipska discovered that 1.1 million Americans, or 14 percent of those who filled insulin prescriptions, reached catastrophic spending, defined as spending more than 40 percent of post-subsistence income on insulin alone.

“The same insulin and other medications for diabetes and obesity are frequently priced 10 times higher in the U.S. than in peer countries, Lipska said… ‘While the recent Inflation Reduction Act includes several policies to lower prescription drug prices, including for those used in diabetes treatment, the legislation also has serious limitations in providing relief for patients, particularly for novel, transformative treatments,’ [said Reshma Ramachandran, MD, assistant professor of medicine (general medicine) at YSM].

“Lipska pointed to the power of U.S. corporations as another obstacle to drug affordability. ‘Many patient advocacy groups, educational events, and even professional societies that clinicians are a part of are in some way influenced or supported by the pharmaceutical industry,’ she said…

Still, the issue is gaining traction, Lipska says. She notes a growing awareness of the need to address the drug pricing crisis through state and federal intervention and of the role clinicians can play in advocating on behalf of their patients.”

Despite the fact that the first serious proposal for national healthcare in the United States came in a February 1974 proposal from then Republican President Richard Nixon, the GOP has steadfastly rejected such proposals as “creeping socialism” (a serious conflation of the terms “social benefits” with “socialism”). Between that force plus massive campaign contributions from healthcare providers and pharmas half resulted in halfway measures, leaving major gaps in our entire system, that squeaked by Congress in the form of the 2010 Affordable Care Act and the recent Biden administration Infrastructure Reduction Act. Far short of what is needed.

Despite “populist” vectors, one thing is absolutely true about the MAGA GOP: they do not care one whit about healthcare for their own constituents but fall to their knees to embrace unconscionable windfall profits to pharmas and healthcare providers. Recent scandals among private equity takeovers of ER facilities and small local hospitals, reducing costs to generate higher profits as patients die for lack of necessarily available staffing, equipment and medication, should be enough to push national healthcare as the only viable solution.

I’m Peter Dekom, and American consumers should be madder than hell over these absurd costs and resulting outrageous corporate profits, but they keep electing representatives who staunchly oppose the obvious solutions.