Good morning, everyone, and welcome to another working week. We hope the weekend respite was relaxing and invigorating, because that oh-so familiar routine of online meetings, phone calls, and deadlines has returned. But you knew this would happen, yes? After all, the world, such as it is, continues to spin. So time to nudge it in a better direction with a cup or two of delicious stimulation. Our choice today is coconut rum. Please feel free to join us. Meanwhile, we have assembled another list of interesting items for you to peruse. Please see below. We hope you have a meaningful and productive journey today. And of course, do keep in touch. We get lonely, too, sometimes. …
Across the U.S., policymakers, government officials, and patients are uncertain how the Medicaid program will cope with the added budget strain of new, curative gene therapies for sickle cell disease that cost $2.2 million and $3.1 million, STAT explains. Sickle cell disease affects an estimated 100,000 Americans and is particularly prevalent among Black people, with 1 of every 365 Black individuals born in the U.S. with the condition, which can lead to an early death. Of those, about 30% to 40% are believed to rely on Medicaid for their health care, according to a 2021 study that was funded by one of the gene therapy manufacturers.
Alarmed by the ballooning costs, the North Carolina State Health Plan will end all coverage of medications for weight loss, including Wegovy, which accounts for the vast majority of its spending on obesity drugs, The New York Times writes. The plan will continue covering versions of the drugs for people with diabetes. In June 2021, the insurance plan, which covers state employees, paid for 2,800 people to take the weight loss drugs, but that rose to nearly 25,000 last year. Medications like Wegovy cost the state plan $100 million last year, rising seemingly out of nowhere to represent 10% of its spending on prescription drugs.