Convenience Big Store: Government-funded weight loss and toke ’em Aggies

Weight loss drugs for everyone!

A new class of drugs is reigniting an ancient debate. If we know an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, why doesn't the American health care system spend up front to keep us healthier?

The recently-perfected, revolutionary drugs are GLP-1 agonists, best known by the brand names Ozempic, Wegovy or Trulicity. Researchers developed them to trigger insulin production, slow stomach emptying and increase a feeling of fullness to treat diabetes.

Many patients have experienced significant weight loss in a very short period. Studies show the weight stays off as long as the patient takes the drug. While the FDA has approved only Wegovy and Saxenda for weight loss, so many doctors are prescribing the other drugs that there is a global shortage for diabetics who really need them.

The drugs' retail prices are also exceptionally high, between $800 and $1,000 monthly.

Their effects go far beyond the medical. This week I listened to an Odd Lots podcast about the potential impacts on other industries, such as fast food. The episode's guest, James van Geelen of Citrinitas Holdings, made a provocative proposal: If obesity kills as many people a year as COVID, and the government paid to get everyone a COIVD vaccine, why doesn't the government also provide GLP-1 drugs for free?

Let's first agree that obesity is not a moral failure but a deadly health condition frequently beyond an individual's control. More than 42 percent of Americans suffer from obesity, which places them at higher risk for heart disease, diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure, several cancers and more than 200 other conditions requiring medical treatment.

A recent study found that Wegovy reduced the risk of death, heart attack and stroke by 20 percent. GLP-1 makers are running dozens of tests to show their drugs do more than fight diabetes; they can prevent many of the fatalities associated with obesity.

Treatment will undoubtedly save money. In 2021, the annual cost of large employer private insurance coverage for people with an obesity or overweight diagnosis was $12,588 compared to $4,699 for those without, according to research from KFF, formerly the Kaiser Family Foundation. Direct costs from obesity are $173 billion annually, with indirect costs estimated at $1 trillion. But sadly, too many employers are experiencing sticker shock from these new drugs and limiting when they'll pay for them.

If we want to reduce overall health care costs, perhaps the government should pay for obese people to receive a GLP-1. It will cost a fortune now but lower other health care costs later and spur greater economic growth by keeping the workforce healthier.

Note: I'll be on vacation next week; the newsletter will resume on Sept. 7.

Chris Tomlinson, Business Columnist

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What I'm Reading

Must Read: Could carbon management be the next trillion-dollar industry? Texas oil companies think so (Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News)

Should Read: Migrants held even after their Texas border charges were resolved, lawsuit claims "Due process is at most an afterthought." (Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News)

Interesting Read: Dam It? Russell Gold is on the oilmen behaving badly beat, this time damming a river to create a personal pool. (Texas Monthly)

Technical Read: Skyrocketing Drug Prices: The Bubble We Live In By numbing patients to price variations, insurers disable market forces and allow pharmaceutical firms to charge exorbitant prices. (Montclair University)

Fun Read: Small Town Texas Inspires Original Works of Fiction Short stories from six of the state's top authors. (Texas Highways)

Question of the Week

Should the government treat obesity like a national emergency similar to COVID? Reply directly to this email and tell me your thoughts.

Mailbag

Last Week's Question: Should the U.S. Constitution have a clause like the one found in Montana requiring the state to assure a clean and healthful environment?

"I think it would be a wonderful thing to be added to the Constitution. It is highly unlikely to happen with the legislators we currently have in the U.S. House and Senate." – Rosalind Wilkins Haith, Houston

"'In Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, …' would allow a Montana-like clause. Amending the Constitution seems a big chore. Remember the Equal Rights Amendment?" – John Callaghan, San Antonio

"A clause like the one in Montana (is) now being used to stop oil and gas production there. My short answer is NO, and my long answer is HECK NO. We've already got too much public policy being decided by judges." – Greg Groh, Houston

"I say 'no.' Even if it could pass, by the time it was bandied about and voted on, the environment will have long since been toasted beyond human inhabitation. Montana's Amendment called for 'the legislature to provide for the administration and enforcement of this duty.' We already have access to this remedy." – Mark Schreiner, Houston

"Every day, I am so sad to tell my granddaughter that I don't know if she will have an Earth to love in and grow; our generation has done a very poor job of taking care of this planet. I still have people who say this is not the end of the Earth!" – Barbara Francis, San Antonio

The Takeaway

Texas A&M did something right this week after months of living up to the worst stereotypes.

Mike Johnson, the university's police chief, informed the regents that his force would no longer arrest students for possessing less than two ounces of marijuana. Officers will seize the drug and report the incident to the prosecutors, who will decide whether to pursue the case and seek an arrest warrant.

Johnson said law enforcement has better ways to spend their time than ruining the future employment prospects of the students they are charged to protect. Good on him, Chancellor John Sharp and the regents for showing a modicum of common sense.

Two-thirds of Texans said they would back the legalization of marijuana for recreational adult use. Lawmakers have frequently floated the idea of legalizing pot, but Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick promised it would never happen while he is in office.

While adherence to outdated and harmful laws is Patrick's schtick, it's good to see city, county and campus leaders acting unilaterally to stop wasting taxpayer money and hurting young people for no legitimate reason.

If we've learned nothing else about life in College Station recently, it's that Aggies need to loosen up.