IOU blues… On Friday, the Congressional Budget Office said there’s a “significant risk” the US gov’t won’t be able to pay all its bills in June if the debt ceiling isn’t lifted. If lawmakers don’t reach an agreement, the outlook isn’t rosy: Treasury Secretary Yellen predicted an “economic catastrophe,” and JPMorgan's CEO said panic could sweep markets. Meanwhile, some are proposing wacky workarounds, including a trillion-dollar coin and using the 14th Amendment to argue the debt limit is unconstitutional (President Biden said he’s considering that one).
Refill relief… After years of gov’t pressure to lower diabetes drug costs, last week Eli Lilly promised the Senate it would stop raising the price of its existing insulin meds. It’s a big deal, since Eli Lilly and its rivals Sanofi and Novo Nordisk supply 90%+ of the world’s insulin, and all of the US’s (#three-opoly). This year, all three announced plans to slash insulin prices, which could provide relief to 8M+ Americans who rely on the lifesaving drug. Companies charge as much as $200/dose, though it can cost less than $10 to make.