With the debut of remarkably effective weight-loss drugs, America's high obesity rate and its uniquely astronomical prescription drug pricing appear to be set on a catastrophic collision course—one that threatens to "bankrupt our entire health care system," according to a new Senate report that modeled the economic impact of the drugs in different uptake scenarios.

The HELP committee analysis cited a March Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report that found: "at their current prices, [anti-obesity medicines] would cost the federal government more than it would save from reducing other health care spending—which would lead to an overall increase in the deficit over the next 10 years." Moreover, in April, the head of the CBO said that the drugmakers would have to slash prices of their weight-loss drugs by 90 percent to "get in the ballpark" of not increasing the national deficit.

The HELP committee report offered a relatively simple solution to the problem: Drugmakers should set their US prices to match the relatively low prices they've set in other countries. The report focused on Wegovy because it currently accounts for the most US prescriptions in the new class of weight-loss drugs (GLP-1 drugs). Wegovy is made by Denmark-based Novo Nordisk.

In the US, the estimated net price (after rebates) of Wegovy is $809 per month. In Denmark, the price is $186 per month. A study by researchers at Yale estimated that drugs like Wegovy can be profitably manufactured for less than $5 per month.

If Novo Nordisk set its US prices for Wegovy to match the Danish price, spending to treat half of US adults with obesity would drop from $411 billion to $94.5 billion, a roughly $316.5 billion savings.

I started a free trial and cancelled it immediately to have no ads while on holiday. Didn't realize they are offering some illusion of achievements as a "reward" for your attention, doubling as a FOMO weapon for when you want to quit.

Due to a dependence on GPS, large scale farms are now hackable/disruptable.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/21284770

Role Description

This is a part-time on-site volunteer role at Shoppers Drug Mart in Toronto, ON. As a volunteer, you will be responsible for assisting with various tasks and providing support to the staff. This may include helping customers find products, restocking shelves, organizing inventory, and maintaining a clean and organized store environment. Your role as a volunteer is crucial in ensuring that our customers have a positive and seamless shopping experience.

This has a real "hide the zombie bite from your friends" feel to it, albeit on a much grander scale.

Kessler Syndrome would end space travel and satellite communications for generations. It's worth taking a look at this group and its work.

Google promised to keep data from the phone calls private.

hey there fellow posters

i've recently posted the "Not only is this not how anyone writes, I do not understand why anyone would want to read anything that sounds anything like this" post to my lemmy, reddit, or twitter, and let me tell you, it's been a total game-changer

i know this isn't particularly novel but it's just so depressing we have to read this dogshit everywhere now