Viewpoints: Unaffordable GLP-1s Push Patients Into A Risky Gray Market; TrumpRx Is Pricey Political Theater聽
Opinion writers tackle these public health issues.
On Oct. 16, President Trump promised to slash the price of brand-name GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy to $150 a month. Even after a top health official suggested price negotiations between drugmakers and the administration were ongoing, the announcement sent Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly stocks tumbling. For patients who鈥檝e been priced out, that number sounded like relief. (Nick Dothee, 10/24)
Recently, President Trump signed a 鈥渕ost-favored nation鈥 executive order on drug prices with a claim that it would force pharmaceutical companies to lower U.S. prescription costs to match those abroad. As a result, the White House announced a deal with Pfizer to lower drug prices and a new direct-to-consumer website dubbed 鈥淭rumpRx.鈥 (Tahir Amin, 10/24)
My 27-year-old son, who works part-time, just received notice of his health insurance premium for next year. Under his Affordable Care Act plan through the Maryland marketplace, his monthly premium will increase by 17.1 percent. He鈥檚 also facing a 10.3 percent jump to his deductible, to just over $10,000, in 2026. (Michelle Singletary, 10/24)
Many readers shared how AI helped them make sense of their diagnoses and treatment options. Sharon from Rhode Island wrote that when her 2-year-old daughter was diagnosed with a rare brain cancer, she was terrified. The wait to see a specialist felt endless, so she turned to ChatGPT every day with the questions that she wanted to ask a doctor. (Leana S. Wen, 10/23)
Many of my constituents live in communities where hospitals have closed, clinics are underfunded and patients are forced to travel miles just to see a doctor.聽That鈥檚 exactly why Congress created the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program in 1992. The idea was to give hospitals that serve large numbers of low-income patients drugs at significant discounts, often 25% to 50% below market price, while still getting each drugs鈥 full reimbursement rate from insurance. They were supposed to invest the difference in price into free clinics, charity care and community health programs in the underserved areas they serve. (La Shawn K. Ford, 10/24)