On April 26, 2024, Paragon’s joint event with the Economic Policy Innovation Center was referenced in Politico.
From the article:
The net cost of weight-loss drugs would have to drop by 90 percent to “get in the ballpark” of not increasing the national deficit, the head of the Congressional Budget Office said Thursday.
Speaking at an event in Washington on how health care costs contribute to the federal debt, hosted by Paragon Health Institute and the Economic Policy Innovation Center, CBO Director Phill Swagel gave insight into his office’s look at how much anti-obesity drugs could cost the federal government if they’re covered under Medicare.
In 2003, Congress prohibited Medicare from covering obesity drugs, and some lawmakers hope to change that. Earlier this year, CBO told Congress it was evaluating how the drugs if covered under Medicare could change baseline projections for health program costs.
The growth in Medicare spending is projected to account for more than two-thirds of the increase in spending in major health care programs over the next 30 years.
Swagel said policymakers could explore reducing the drugs’ cost to lower Medicare costs in the long run, but the price drop would be steep. On the other hand, he said, more people using the drugs could mean savings for other programs, such as disability services.
