Insurers face challenges in covering obesity drugs despite promising data

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Insurers face long road, high cost to cover obesity drugs after promising Wegovy heart health data

by Found, a company that providers obesity care services to 200,000 people, showed that 69% of its patient population does not have insurance coverage for GLP-1 drugs to treat diabetes or weight loss. The results represent a 50% decline in coverage since December 2022.

The new Wegovy data mirrors some of the reduced morbidity and mortality observed in people who undergo, which involves making changes to the digestive system to help a patient lose weight, according to Dr. Eduardo Grunvald, medical director of UCSD Health's Center for Advanced Weight Management. UTS did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether it will reconsider coverage in light of the Novo Nordisk's new data."Given that so many Americans would potentially qualify for these treatments, and the cost is so high, widespread coverage could pose a threat to [an insurance] company's profitability," UCSD's Gunvald said.

"It's very difficult to justify that expense because the insurance would never recoup that," said Dr. Ethan Lazarus, an obesity medicine physician and past president of the Obesity Medicine Association. That group is the largest organization of physicians, nurse practitioners and other healthcare providers dedicated to treating obesity.

The federal program had 65 million enrollees as of March and currently doesn't cover the treatments at all.established that Medicare Part D plans can't cover drugs used for weight loss, but the program does cover obesity screening, behavioral counseling and bariatric surgery.that would eliminate the provision, but said its fate in Congress is far from certain.

 

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Novo Nordisk weight loss drug Wegovy cuts heart disease risk by 20%, trial showsResults of a late-stage drug trial conducted by Novo Nordisk show that weight loss drug Wegovy can reduce the risk of heart disease in certain patients. Wegovy was approved by the FDA in 2021 for chronic weight management in adults with obesity or overweight and weight-related conditions.
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