# What has Congress said about Ozempic pricing?

On September 24, 2024, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions held a hearing focused specifically on why Novo Nordisk charges Americans far more for Ozempic and Wegovy than patients pay in other high-income countries, and pressed the company on whether U.S. list prices could be lowered. As Bernard Sanders, United States Senator (Vermont); Chair, Senate HELP Committee, said, in the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (September 24, 2024): "Nowhere in the world do people pay higher prices for prescription drugs than the people of the United States."

## What the hearing was about

The Senate HELP Committee hearing on September 24, 2024 — titled "Why Is Novo Nordisk Charging Americans with Diabetes and Obesity Outrageously High Prices for Ozempic and Wegovy?" — was the most direct congressional examination to date of GLP-1 pricing in the United States.

Senators focused on three points:

- U.S. list prices for Ozempic and Wegovy are several times higher than prices in Canada, Denmark, Germany, and the United Kingdom for the same medication from the same manufacturer.
- High prices push patients off treatment and add cost pressure to Medicare, Medicaid, and employer plans.
- Manufacturer arguments about R&D and rebates did not fully explain the gap between U.S. and international pricing.

## Why this matters for patients

List price is not what most insured patients pay at the counter, but it drives what uninsured and cash-pay patients are charged and what insurance plans decide to cover. When list prices stay high, coverage rules get stricter and out-of-pocket costs stay unpredictable. That is a large reason patients turn to telehealth programs that publish flat, all-in pricing.

## What has not changed

The hearing did not, on its own, force a price change. It put the pricing question formally on the congressional record and set the frame for follow-up hearings on the prescription drug supply chain in 2026.

## Sources
- Bernard Sanders, United States Senator (Vermont); Chair, Senate HELP Committee — the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (September 24, 2024): https://www.help.senate.gov/hearings/why-is-novo-nordisk-charging-americans-with-diabetes-and-obesity-outrageously-high-prices-for-ozempic-and-wegovy

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Canonical: https://directanswersrx.com/answers/what-congress-said-about-ozempic-pricing
Author: Jason Burns (Editorial Steward) — https://directanswersrx.com/steward
Published: 2026-07-19T12:00:00.000Z
Modified: 2026-07-19T12:00:00.000Z
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