Governor J.B. Pritzker is in the news again. No, it’s not about our record-breaking, largest in state history, $56 billion budget or our skyrocketing property taxes. This time, it’s actually some good news.
The Governor revealed that he has lost 80 pounds over the last two years. Part of his success, Pritzker says, has come from using a GLP-1 medication after being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.
Whether someone chooses to use a GLP-1 is a personal medical decision, but the Governor’s announcement also raises a much bigger question about who can access these medications and what they cost.
Pritzker is out of touch. The cost of healthcare and medication is irrelevant to the inherited billionaire. That puts him in a very different position from many families who walk into a pharmacy and discover how much a prescription will cost.
Pritzker himself attempted to acknowledge the problem. While discussing his experience, he said many Illinoisans face the same health challenges, but that expanding coverage of these medications is not feasible.
That is where I believe the conversation should go next.
Rather than focusing solely on one politician’s weight-loss journey, we should talk about what can be done to bring down prescription drug costs and give patients greater access to medications their doctors believe could improve their health.
Significant efforts are already underway at the federal level to address prescription drug costs.
The Trump Administration has pursued a most-favored-nation strategy aimed at bringing the prices Americans pay for certain medications closer to prices paid in other developed countries. The Administration has now reached agreements with 26 pharmaceutical manufacturers that represent nearly 90 percent of the branded drug market.
That effort now extends to Medicaid. Under a new federal payment model, participating pharmaceutical manufacturers will provide state Medicaid programs with rebates on hundreds of expensive brand-name medications, including drugs used to treat diabetes, cancer and asthma, with the goal of bringing final Medicaid prices in line with most-favored-nation pricing.
Efforts also target consumers directly. TrumpRx, launched earlier this year, provides another avenue for patients to access discounted medications outside of traditional insurance coverage. Patients have saved more than $700 million through TrumpRx since its February launch.
These policies will not suddenly make every prescription affordable for every patient, and some of their projected long-term savings still need to be measured as they are implemented. But they show the different approaches available to policymakers trying to address prescription drug costs.
Illinois has choices to make too.
Additionally, if Governor Pritzker believes Illinois cannot afford to expand access to these medications, then we should be willing to have an honest conversation about our spending priorities. The state is still budgeting billions of dollars every year for Illegals and other wasteful programs.
Every dollar in the state budget represents a choice. We should keep examining lower-priority spending throughout state government and ask whether those dollars could be better used to address the everyday costs facing Illinois families who fund our government, including the cost of essential medications.
I’m glad Governor Pritzker is becoming healthier, and I hope his story encourages others to take their own health seriously. But his experience with GLP-1 medications should lead to a conversation that goes beyond his personal weight-loss journey.
If these medications can improve people’s health, the question shouldn’t be whether the Governor can access them. We should be asking what can be done to make prescription drugs more affordable and accessible for the people we represent.
