November 24, 2025 — Americans are only barely aware of the role that pharmacy benefit managers play in health insurance. But what they do know is not good. To the extent that most people know anything about these shadowy players in health insurance, they know PBMs control which drugs they can get, how much hassle it is to get […]
November 7, 2025 — President Trump held a press event yesterday to issue some very welcome news on coverage and prices for obesity medicines. On prices, they are coming down. In reality, this is an extension of the ongoing trend of downward pressure on these prices that has been in play since the day that semaglutide and tirzepatide launched […]
October 18, 2025 — It’s entertaining, but not really funny. At an Oval Office press event Thursday, which was supposed to be all about fertility drugs, President Trump opened his remarks talking about “a certain drug” that costs $130 in London and $1,300 in New York. “So now we’re going to be paying, instead of $1,300, you’ll be paying […]
September 28, 2025 — Back in March 2024, we welcomed the news of a door opening ever so slightly for Medicare Part D plans to cover GLP-1s in people with obesity and heart disease. So 18 months later, it’s reasonable to ask, how’s that working out for everyone? A new research letter in JAMA gives us an answer, but […]
September 10, 2025 — It’s almost funny. Except it’s not. This is deadly serious for people whose entire lives are shaped by obesity – people who need better access to care. The influential Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) issued a new draft report on the cost effectiveness of semaglutide and tirzepatide. In a nutshell, the report says […]
August 20, 2025 — By now, it should be obvious. List prices for GLP-1 medicines like semaglutide and tirzepatide are fiction. If you had any doubt, read up on the deal Novo Nordisk just struck with GoodRx to sell both the Ozempic and Wegovy brands of semaglutide for $499 per month. This deal with GoodRx is happening for two […]
May 27, 2025 — “It’s absolutely insane to try to keep up with it all,” says obesity medicine physician Laura Davisson. She is talking about the impossible maze of requirements that so-called health insurance plans set up to prevent people from securing coverage for medicines to treat obesity. It leads us to ask: Are health plans insuring profits more […]
May 22, 2025 — The game is over. Today is the day legal semaglutide compounding at scale ends by decree from the FDA. Compounding pharmacies have known this day was coming since February when the agency determined that the shortage of semaglutide from Novo Nordisk was over. Well-informed patients who have depended upon compounding for affordable access to a […]
May 7, 2025 — The word of the day in obesity is volatility. Minutes ago in Denmark, Novo Nordisk announced their first quarter business results and revealed a 13% drop in obesity drug sales, a reduction in their sales forecast, and yet the response in European stock markets was that the stock rose in value. In fact, it rose […]
May 2, 2025 — The last legitimate path for GLP-1 compounding closes on May 22 and consumer protection advocates are worried about rabbit holes opening up to exploit the desperation of some patients. Yesterday, the National Consumer League (NCL) released survey results to suggest a great deal of confusion and misinformation about off-brand versions of GLP-1 medicines. Perhaps more […]
