A tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing

  • by: Peter Pitts |
  • 06/12/2024
Yes, once again we’re talking about Bernie Sanders. Here’s the full quote from MacBeth:

“Life's but a walking shadow; a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

That’s the “Scottish Play,” but equally tragic (and a lot more comic) is the way the Senator from Ben and Jerry’s thinks that by talking tough, he’ll be taken seriously. Nope. All syrup, no maple tree.

Since, according to Senator Sanders, Novo Nordisk won’t testify about its GLP-1 agonist products, his committee will issue a subpoena. The game’s afoot. Let’s call it the “Danish Play.”

(Reality check: The Health Committee hasn’t issued a subpoena in more than 40 years.)

Per the Green Mountain State’s favorite son, the Senate Health Committee has “reached out time and time again to schedule Novo Nordisk’s voluntary appearance at a hearing … Unfortunately, despite all of our efforts, they have repeatedly denied our requests.” Nope.

Per a written Novo Nordisk clarification, “The company has responded to every request Sanders has made, and said the company is “committed to a hearing that aligns with the Chairman’s established committee practices … On multiple occasions, we have communicated our CEO’s willingness to testify and offered several dates for a hearing. Based on our continued cooperation, we feel that issuing a subpoena is unnecessary.”

But not nearly as much sturm und drang.

It's also interesting that only one manufacturer is being summoned to testify – and not a single Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) has received a similar honor.

If Senator Sanders wants to be taken seriously, he should recognize that his current approach is … much ado about nothing. Just ask Vermont’s favorite fictional representative, Senator Ortolan Finistirre.

For more, see this excellent reporting by STAT.
 
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Center for Medicine in the Public Interest is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization promoting innovative solutions that advance medical progress, reduce health disparities, extend life and make health care more affordable, preventive and patient-centered. CMPI also provides the public, policymakers and the media a reliable source of independent scientific analysis on issues ranging from personalized medicine, food and drug safety, health care reform and comparative effectiveness.

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