COVERING OBESITY DRUGS — If Congress authorized the coverage of anti-obesity drugs, federal spending would increase by about $35 billion over eight years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The CBO report comes as policymakers mull how to pay for the pricey but popular drugs known as GLP-1s. Medicare is prohibited from covering weight-loss medications, though the program covers GLP-1s for other conditions, including diabetes. In the past year, lobbyists have poured money into efforts to get Congress to strike down the Medicare prohibition and for HHS to find a workaround. If the anti-obesity drugs were authorized in 2026 for Medicare beneficiaries with obesity, 12.5 million people would be eligible, and 2 percent would be expected to use the drugs in the first year, the CBO said. Key findings: The analysis found that, in addition to raising net federal spending, the direct federal cost to cover the drugs would increase from $1.6 billion in 2026 to $7.1 billion by 2034. “[T]otal savings from beneficiaries’ improved health would be small — less than $50 million in 2026 and rising to $1.0 billion in 2034,” the CBO said. The caveat: The CBO said it expected the drugs’ net costs under Medicare would decline beyond 2034 because of a drop in the drugs’ costs over time and a growth in savings. “Nevertheless, the policy would still increase federal spending between 2026 and 2044,” the analysis said. ‘SHARK’ CLEARS THE AIR ON HHS JOB — Mark Cuban for HHS secretary? No thanks, he told reporters Thursday, Ben reports. “No, I’m not [interested in HHS],” Cuban said at a roundtable hosted by the health policy research group KFF. “I just like to troll.” The billionaire and star of ABC’s “Shark Tank” said in a recent interview on Fox News that he might be interested in a high-level position — Securities and Exchange Commission chair or “maybe” leading HHS. But, on Tuesday, Cuban said he wouldn’t be interested in any position in the administration but suggested he could play a role as an outside adviser and “help whoever.” Why it matters: Cuban, who founded the online drugstore Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs, has emerged as a vocal campaign ally for Vice President Kamala Harris. He’s advised her on how to approach pharmacy benefit managers, advocating for more transparency, which he said she was receptive to. PBMs work with insurers and large employers to negotiate drug prices. “In talking to the Harris campaign, if you introduce transparency, even to the point of requiring PBMs and insurers to publish their contracts publicly, then you start to introduce an efficient market,” Cuban said. He suggested that requiring more transparency would have a bigger impact on prescription drug costs than allowing Medicare to negotiate more drug prices. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have sought to increase transparency on how PBMs conduct business and have raised concerns about consolidation. The FTC has launched a probe into the market and filed a lawsuit against major PBMs. PBMs have said their negotiations with drugmakers help lead to lower prices for their customers and have blamed pharmaceutical companies for high drug prices.
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