Elon Musk, one of President-elect Donald Trump closest confidanton Wednesday revealed his support for making weight-loss drugs like Ozempic affordable to the general public — which contrasts with comments from Health and Human Services secretary-nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“Nothing would do more to improve the health, lifespan, and quality of life of Americans than making GLP inhibitors available to the public at extremely low prices,” Musk said. written on x“Nothing else comes close to it.”
President Biden’s HHS said in late November that it would push for a plan to cover weight-loss drugs for people covered by federal benefit programs like Medicare and Medicaid.
But given the short time left in Biden’s presidency, the future of waist-shrinking drugs will be left to the incoming Trump administration, raising questions about who will make the final decisions.
A vocal opponent of Ozempic, Kennedy Jr. strongly urged the next administration to “make America healthy again” before his nomination as HHS Secretary.
Kennedy ridiculed the steep price of making Ozempic available to all overweight people in an interview with Greg Gutfeld of Fox News, claiming it would cost “$3 trillion a year.”
“If we spent one-fifth of this on feeding every man, woman and child in our country three meals a day, we could solve the epidemic of obesity and diabetes overnight,” the 70-year-old health guru said.
GLP inhibitors are a type of drug that helps people with diabetes control their blood sugar and insulin levels, but Americans are increasingly using the group of drugs, including Ozempic, for weight loss.
Musk acknowledged that his idea could cause a stir if drugs become cheaper.
“A lot of people will complain about this post, but I’m right,” he said on X.
Ex-personality Gail Alfar responded to Musk’s views, saying, “Elon Musk is right, 40% of Americans suffer from obesity and 9% have a BMI over 40. This is extremely dangerous for our health as a nation. ” This needs to be fixed. The cost of GLP-1 receptor agonists is too high for most people who need them.
The world’s richest man replied, “Gayle is right.”
Musk does not currently hold any positions that would directly impact drug regulation, but his continued presence with Trump has allowed him to make policy suggestions and promote some political appointments.
A spokesman for Kennedy did not immediately respond to inquiries from The Post.
(TagstoTranslate)Politics(T)US News(T)Elon Musk(T)Health and Human Services(T)Ozempic(T)Robert F. kennedy jr
