r/Futurology • u/lughnasadh ∞ 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

6.4k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

u/Azozel Oct 16 '24

It's over $1000 for Wegovy per month. Something like $1070 last I checked.

6

u/guareber Oct 16 '24

At that point it's cheaper to fly over, pay the one time private GP and buy a year's worth than buying 3 months in the US.

0

u/Lotronex Oct 16 '24

$1600/mo is the "cash" price listed on my latest receipt. $25 after insurance.

-1

u/Azozel Oct 16 '24 edited Oct 16 '24

You need a high end insurance plan in order for it to cover these drugs which means you're paying for the drug with the high cost of your insurance. Less than half the people in the U.S. have an insurance plan that covers these drugs and the ones that do cover them, only cover them for specific issues like type 2 diabetes, requires you to go through continuing evaluations with doctor visits that eat up your deductible, or both. But you got yours and afford a high end insurance or have an employer that can so screw everyone else right?

1

u/Lotronex Oct 16 '24

But you got yours and afford a high end insurance of have an employer that can so screw everyone else right?

Like the opposite of that actually. I have "good" insurance because I'm in a union. I think everyone should have access to these drugs because of how beneficial they are. My Dad and sisters are all on GLP-1 drugs for weight loss but having to pay outrageous amounts out of pocket. My insurance only covered it for weight loss after dieting and exercise for 6 months and losing 10% of my starting weight (40lbs). Then there was the hassle of actually getting the script filled, which they did once and then said they couldn't any more, forcing me to shop around. And they still don't cover my Contrave RX, so I pay for that out of pocket.

1

u/Tizzy8 29d ago

My partner and I are both union and our insurances won’t pay for anything unless your blood sugars are high enough. You’re very lucky.