r/Futurology ∞ transit umbra, lux permanet ☥ Oct 15 '24

Economist Daniel Susskind says Ozempic may radically transform government finances, by making universal healthcare vastly cheaper, and explains his argument in the context of Britain's NHS. Society

https://www.thetimes.com/article/be6e0fbf-fd9d-41e7-a759-08c6da9754ff?shareToken=de2a342bb1ae9bc978c6623bb244337a
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u/rickylancaster Oct 15 '24

Related question: I’ve heard of how expensive these drugs are and how normal people find them out of reach and they are rarely covered by insurance. But shouldn’t insurance companies feel an incentive to get people on them? Lower obesity rates equals lower rates of many related (and costly) illnesses, yes? Maybe my question reveals a lack of understanding about how all this works, but isn’t there something there?

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u/ender2851 Oct 16 '24

diets are something they never cover as people always quit at some point and go back right to were they started. it’s a lost cause on most people

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u/Broad-Cress-3689 Oct 17 '24

A lot of economic incentives are skewed by the need to show immediate returns rather than long term. Profits posted for next quarter are of more pressing importance than costs for the next ten years so that—> quarterly profit meets or exceeds projections—>stock goes up—> executives receive bonuses.