Tag: healthcare

How long until we’re all on Ozempic?

ssegraves

From Asterisk Magazine —

GLP-1 medications1 like Ozempic appear to be that drug. Estimates suggest GLP-1s can reduce body weight by at least 15% when taken regularly — and perhaps even more as newer drugs come to market. And though evidence is still being gathered, they may have benefits beyond weight loss: potentially curbing drinking, treating sleep apnea, and reducing risk of stroke. They’ve been called, in many places, a miracle drug, and as such, the category is poised for massive growth. Gallup estimated that 15.5 million Americans have tried them, and half as many are currently using them.

My forecast predicts that the supply of GLP-1s will increase from eight million patient-years to roughly enough for approximately 23 million Americans by 2030. Still, this is only enough supply for about 15% of the 147 million Americans with diabetes or obesity.

 

Wild. There is definitely some value to these drugs but at what cost over natural measures? For some, I’m sure Ozempic represents a miracle but it’s also a drug that doctors and researchers are still experimenting with and trying to fully understand.

Health Insurance Bill Passes in the Senate

ssegraves

This morning the health insurance legislation that has been on the table in the Senate passed with a 60-39 vote. Now the legislation must be merged with the bill that passed in the House in November. In reality, this is when the real “fun” begins.

For the most part, I do not think that most Americans understand the legislation or what it means for the government to provide health insurance to millions of its citizens. There is also a lack of understanding of the difference between healthcare and health insurance. Americans are not lacking healthcare, a number lack health insurance. Sure, it is semantics, but it is meaningful semantics. Stating that Americans lack healthcare, is making it sound like the states lack hospitals and we get our medical care from shaman hanging out in a forest.

My biggest hang-up with the legislation that passed actually has nothing to do with health part of the bill, but instead some of the provisions regarding how states will be allocated money and the inability to repeal the Medicare Advisory Board by a future Congress.

I will not go into the details about these things because they are complicated and I am not sure they will even make it into the merged bill. What I think people need to understand is that there has never been a guarantee on one’s health or on the ability to receive medical care on the cheap. Is the healthcare system broken? Yes. Can the healthcare system be fixed by having the government mandate changes and pass out cash? I highly doubt it. I would love to be proven wrong, but I just don’t see it happening.

Let’s remember that these are politicians at work. No matter what side of the argument that you are on, can we agree that most politicians do what they do to get reelected? Or that they want to stick to the party “line”? What this amounts to then is asking men, who have been self-serving for the most part, to start serving the people that they represent.

When we elect a Congressman we are electing someone that serves the people of that district. This doesn’t mean that the elected official has to do everything the people say, it means that the official needs to do what’s in the best interest of the people while listening to their constituents. So if a Congressman wants to vote for legislation but is getting loud opposition from their constituents, they shouldn’t vote for it. That was the way the system was meant to work but I am afraid it has fallen away from that into personal gain.

Have a Merry Christmas!