Posts Tagged ‘access to care’

Who Benefits from Pharmacy Benefit Managers?

November 15, 2023 — A trip into the world of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) is enough to make our heads spin. It leads us to wonder: exactly who benefits from pharmacy benefit managers? The answer is not clear, but it seems obvious that patients in need of affordable medicine do not. In Search of a Fair Deal The biggest […]

GLP-1 Supply Issues: Both Companies on Their Toes?

November 3, 2023 — Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly updated their investors yesterday on their performance through the third quarter of 2023 and the word is that they are “raking in cash” from their new medicines that work so well in obesity. Gobs of money seem to be flowing to both companies, but the stories they were telling about […]

OW2023: A Tantalizing Future, Inadequate in the Present

October 16, 2023 — Forgive us a bit of skepticism please. We are facing a jarring disconnect at ObesityWeek from the reality of medical care that simply can’t keep up with stunning progress in obesity science. Scientists and obesity medicine experts are promising us a tantalizing future for obesity care while the present circumstances facing real people living with […]

The Surge of Physicians Seeking Certification in Obesity Medicine

September 21, 2023 — Perhaps we should not be surprised. Because the demand for GLP-1 agonists to treat obesity is not the only thing outstripping supply. It seems that the demand for physicians with a certification in obesity medicine is also having a surge. A record number of physicians have applied to take the certification exam this year – […]

Cause and Effect, Waist Circumference and Health Costs

September 17, 2023 — OMG. How can we possibly cope with the costs of treating obesity with these expensive new obesity meds? This question seems to be on the lips of many who pay for health plans. But a new study in Nature Communications turns that question on its head. How can we afford to continue withholding effective treatment for […]

A Jaw-Dropping Spike in Obesity-Related Heart Deaths

September 9, 2023 — Two years ago, we got the first signal. It looked like deaths due to heart disease were no longer dropping. In fact, they went up in 2020. This week, the reason why became pretty clear. A new study in the Journal of the American Heart Association documented a tripling of obesity-related heart deaths over the […]

Rationalizing Denial of Care for Obesity

September 4, 2023 — Health systems seem adept at denial of care for the most prevalent chronic disease in America, obesity. To understand this, just look at the hurdles a patient must clear to receive that most effective treatment with the longest track record: metabolic surgery. The goal is to pick the people for surgery who will have the […]

Pricing, Insurance, and Bias Driving Disparities in Obesity

September 3, 2023 — In the midst of an argument for lifestyle as the “cornerstone” for dealing with obesity, Frank Hu recently made a point with which we agree. He expressed the importance of GLP-1 agonists for obesity and warned that issues with access could bring wider health disparities. Because pricing of these drugs, health insurance, and weight-related biases […]

Does It Matter Why the Population Has So Much Obesity?

September 2, 2023 — Ask any parent. They can tell you that “Why?” can be the most wonderful question a child can bring them. It can also be the most annoying. And so it is with the question of why the population has so much obesity. But it just won’t go away, and in fact the question seems to […]

Places with Wealth-Based Access to Diabetes and Obesity Care

August 27, 2023 — Writing for the New York Times, Joseph Goldstein tells us that prescriptions for GLP-1 agonists are going to the wealthiest, whitest, and healthiest neighborhoods in New York City. Neighborhoods where the medical need is greatest? Not so much. Though we might hope that advanced medicines for obesity and diabetes would go to places with the […]