U.S. Secretary of Commerce Explains How the Administration Brought Down GLP-1 Prices in the U.S.

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U.S. Secretary of Commerce Explains How the Administration Brought Down GLP-1 Prices in the U.S.

US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick described how pharmaceutical companies have charged Americans significantly higher prices than consumers in other countries while selling the same product overseas for far less.…

calfkicker.com

 

[YoYoFat]

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Explains How the Administration Brought Down GLP-1 Prices in the U.S.

US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick described how pharmaceutical companies have charged Americans significantly higher prices than consumers in other countries while selling the same product overseas for far less.…

calfkicker.com

Tell me Lutnick and Trump don’t understand how the Most Favored Nation rule works without telling me they don’t know how it works.

It functions to lower drug prices for Medicare and Medicaid patients where the drug is a covered benefit. Many Medicaid plans have discontinued coverage of Wegovy and Zepbound in 2026, so it won’t help those patients.

And MFN doesn’t decrease private/commercial insurance and cash pay patients. To the contrary, MFN often results in cost shifting, where the manufacturers make up the loss from Medicare and Medicaid by INCREASING cost to private/commercial and cash pay patients.

We need legislation that caps what PBMs can charge at the MFN price. But that will never happen.

 

[AndyPanda]

Tell me Lutnick and Trump don’t understand how the Most Favored Nation rule works without telling me they don’t know how it works.

It functions to lower drug prices for Medicare and Medicaid patients where the drug is a covered benefit. Many Medicaid plans have discontinued coverage of Wegovy and Zepbound in 2026, so it won’t help those patients.

And MFN doesn’t decrease private/commercial insurance and cash pay patients. To the contrary, MFN often results in cost shifting, where the manufacturers make up the loss from Medicare and Medicaid by INCREASING cost to private/commercial and cash pay patients.

We need legislation that caps what PBMs can charge at the MFN price. But that will never happen.

I don’t understand the MFN, and don’t care to. My first point is that the US taxpayer contributes to the research of these drugs more than anyone, so we deserve to get it cheaper than any other country. My next point is that Medicaid shouldn’t be paying for anything as optional as GLPs. It’s not an earned benefit. It’s a handout. When you give things to one group of people, it makes them more expensive to people who actually contribute through simple supply and demand.

A few months ago, when SNAP was cut off, I saw the best deals of my life in grocery stores because the only people spending money were the ones who were paying with their own money.

The entire healthcare industry in the US is overpriced and underperformed. The problem is there are powerful people that want you to be fat, and weak. This is why you can fill an opioid prescription for 43 cents, but a weight loss drug cost several hundred dollars. Or why you can get estrogen for basically free, but you need to be ridiculously low to even be considered for testosterone. Why states will tell the feds to pound sand and decriminalize marijuana, but won’t do anything to decriminalize certain firearms.

They want a passive and weak citizenry.

 

[rkl123]

I don’t understand the MFN, and don’t care to. My first point is that the US taxpayer contributes to the research of these drugs more than anyone, so we deserve to get it cheaper than any other country. My next point is that Medicaid shouldn’t be paying for anything as optional as GLPs. It’s not an earned benefit. It’s a handout. When you give things to one group of people, it makes them more expensive to people who actually contribute through simple supply and demand.

A few months ago, when SNAP was cut off, I saw the best deals of my life in grocery stores because the only people spending money were the ones who were paying with their own money.

The entire healthcare industry in the US is overpriced and underperformed. The problem is there are powerful people that want you to be fat, and weak. This is why you can fill an opioid prescription for 43 cents, but a weight loss drug cost several hundred dollars. Or why you can get estrogen for basically free, but you need to be ridiculously low to even be considered for testosterone. Why states will tell the feds to pound sand and decriminalize marijuana, but won’t do anything to decriminalize certain firearms.

They want a passive and weak citizenry.

"My next point is that Medicaid shouldn’t be paying for anything as optional as GLPs."

Very silly take. You'd rather person gets diabetic, has their kidneys go out, and then medicaid must pay for dialysis vs paying for easy prevention up front for a small fraction of the cost of the diabetes and dialysis care that is not optional?

 

[AndyPanda]

"My next point is that Medicaid shouldn’t be paying for anything as optional as GLPs."

Very silly take. You'd rather person gets diabetic, has their kidneys go out, and then medicaid must pay for dialysis vs paying for easy prevention up front for a small fraction of the cost of the diabetes and dialysis care that is not optional?

It depends. Are they diabetic because they are fat from making bad choices and/or eating free food they got from receiving welfare? It’s not my responsibility to pay for anyone’s healthcare but my own. Unless it’s a small child, or someone elderly I do not care. I’m not a proponent of providing freebies to able bodied adults. That makes them bums. I pay about 40% in taxes and I, like a rapidly growing citizenry am sick of busting my ass while losers get free medical, rent, food, and whatever else my tax dollars are paying for. I’d rather my money be spent on increasing military strength of building reliable infrastructure.

 

[Habibibi]

Tell me Lutnick and Trump don’t understand how the Most Favored Nation rule works without telling me they don’t know how it works.

It functions to lower drug prices for Medicare and Medicaid patients where the drug is a covered benefit. Many Medicaid plans have discontinued coverage of Wegovy and Zepbound in 2026, so it won’t help those patients.

And MFN doesn’t decrease private/commercial insurance and cash pay patients. To the contrary, MFN often results in cost shifting, where the manufacturers make up the loss from Medicare and Medicaid by INCREASING cost to private/commercial and cash pay patients.

We need legislation that caps what PBMs can charge at the MFN price. But that will never happen.

100% right on this. Healthcare has a pricing problem : we don't actually know the true price of a drug, or a procedure. GLP1 medicines are exposing some of this, but only people that pay attention know what a PBM is and how they're taking in billions in profit, by overcharging 2x to 100x for drugs.

 

[AndyPanda]

This forum definitely used to feel more intimate and elusive. As popularity grows it cheapens the experience like anything else. Kind of like how alcohol is fun when you are 17 and then once you become of legal age it loses its allure.

 

[el camino 22544]

I don’t understand the MFN, and don’t care to. My first point is that the US taxpayer contributes to the research of these drugs more than anyone, so we deserve to get it cheaper than any other country. My next point is that Medicaid shouldn’t be paying for anything as optional as GLPs. It’s not an earned benefit. It’s a handout. When you give things to one group of people, it makes them more expensive to people who actually contribute through simple supply and demand.

A few months ago, when SNAP was cut off, I saw the best deals of my life in grocery stores because the only people spending money were the ones who were paying with their own money.

The entire healthcare industry in the US is overpriced and underperformed. The problem is there are powerful people that want you to be fat, and weak. This is why you can fill an opioid prescription for 43 cents, but a weight loss drug cost several hundred dollars. Or why you can get estrogen for basically free, but you need to be ridiculously low to even be considered for testosterone. Why states will tell the feds to pound sand and decriminalize marijuana, but won’t do anything to decriminalize certain firearms.

They want a passive and weak citizenry.

I've paid into SS and Medicare my entire life. It ain't no hand-out to me.

 

[AndyPanda]

I've paid into SS and Medicare my entire life. It ain't no hand-out to me.

Who TF mentioned either of those programs? If you paid into it, good. If you didn’t, you are a sponge.

 

[el camino 22544]

Who TF mentioned either of those programs? If you paid into it, good. If you didn’t, you are a sponge.

All class...

 

[marcusjame]

The USA pays higher drug prices because until recently (Passage of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act) the US government was prohibited from negotiating with drug companies for lower prices. The 2022 act passed almost exclusively along party lines with democrates supporting it and republicans opposing it.

The USA currently negotiates with drug companies for lower prices on 10 drugs. The drug companies have been very successful in stopping lowering prices.

China controls access to their market and drugs are much much cheaper. GLP1 drugs are about 150 US dollars a month.

 

[AndyPanda]

All class...

Sound like a taker.