John C. Goodman

Novo Nordisk’s  list price for the weight loss drug Wegovy, for example, is $1,349.02 for a four week pack. The list price for Ozempic is $1,000. But in order to gain access to the Medicare market, the company has agreed to sell both drugs for $245 plus a patient co-pay of $50. Even more interesting is Trump’s push for direct-to-consumer sales. Novo Nordisk has agreed to sell its weight loss drugs for a cash price of $350. Eli Lilly has agreed to sell its weight loss drugs, Zepbound and Orforglipron, for a cash price of $346. More.

A lot of doctors and some conservatives don’t like Medicare Advantage. And there are definitely some bad actors. However, this is the only place in the health care system where we could see the emergence of market-based developments that right-of-center folks like. But before we can institute free market reforms, we need to set the record straight on what is actually happening in that market. That is the point of my latest post at Forbes.

Democrats like to think of themselves as the creators and protectors of social insurance. Yet, there are two things to know about the safety net: 1) Almost all the money goes to special interests, not to poor people, and 2) although the special interests want more money, the last thing they want is reform of the programs from which they profit. More.

1. Codify the Trump 1 regulations for the short-term health insurance market.
2. Let people who buy into that market have one-half the tax credit Obamacare offers.
3. Let employers buy their employees into that market.
4. Continue the (Obamacare) enhanced subsidies for one year.
5. During that year work out the details on a fairer tax system for all private health insurance along the lines of the Sessions/Cassidy health reform bill.

More.

The main reason Democrats in Congress are willing to shut down the government is health care.  Both parties are missing an opportunity here. Obamacare insurance desperately needs reforming. Smart reforms would make the insurance better for those who have it and save taxpayers money at the same time. More

If the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) can stop our Social Security system from sending checks to dead people, that would be a plus. Yet a far more important task is to stop the system from overpaying people who are very much alive. Last year the Social Security Administration admitted it had identified 2 million beneficiaries who have been overpaid and sent them “clawback” letters, demanding the government’s money back. Some of these claims go back several decades, and they can amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars. More

Industry experts believe that the House reconciliation bill would result in 20 million more Americans having a Health Savings Account. Among the changes, Bronze and catastrophic plans sold in the (Obamacare) exchanges would automatically qualify for HSAs. And people could use their HSA to pay the monthly premium of a direct primary care doctor of their choosing – providing 24/7 primary care.

However, John Goodman says that for the same CBO score, the Senate could make the bill much better. More.

In his latest commentary at Forbes, John Goodman explains a huge, missed opportunity by House Republicans.

They should have focused on why Medicaid does such a poor job of meeting the needs of the enrollees. Then, they should have explored ways of making Medicaid better and reducing spending at the same time. This would have been a very positive message to voters.

Let’s hope this turns around in the Senate. More.

When was the last time you saw a news headline announcing that a cancer patient died because she couldn’t afford a drug that could have saved her life? I bet you haven’t. Why? Because it doesn’t happen. At least not in this country. President Trump doesn’t understand the market for drugs. He is not alone. Most people don’t understand it. Here is John Goodman’s contribution to clear thinking:

1. In Part I, he asks readers to imagine a free market for drugs, in which drug manufacturers are given a patent for a certain length of time. The patent allows drug companies to charge a monopoly price. But by price discriminating, they insure that almost no one goes without a lifesaving drug.
2. In Part II, he asks how free market health insurance would cover expensive drugs. People who are more risk averse would purchase “top up” plans to pay for drugs conventional insurance finds not cost effective.
3. In Part III, he shows that both public insurance and unwisely-regulated private health insurance face perverse incentives to favor the healthy over the sick. Reforms are suggested.