2028 candidates: What’s your GLP-1 plan?
Only a few politicians are saying much about the policy implications of this new class of miracle drugs.
The 2028 presidential campaign will be the first race during which GLP-1 medications, a new class of drugs promising to reverse the obesity epidemic, will no longer be novel. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, who was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2024 and began taking insulin, now loses about 80 pounds and no longer requires insulin after a doctor added a GLP-1 to his treatment protocol.
Pritzker believes that as prices drop, the government should offer GLP-1s to everyone, estimating that they could help offset some of the cost. However, the cost of the drugs, ranging from $149 to $399 per month depending on the dose, remains a significant concern. Over 32 million Americans currently take GLP-1s, more than the number of American Jews and Muslims combined.
The policy questions surrounding the drugs are complex, with costs varying based on expansion criteria. Although Pritzker has not committed to running in 2028, the political issues around GLP-1s will be a significant factor in the campaign.
Written by urgent.news from Semafor's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
