WA's largest private health insurer, HBF, will cut rebates altogether for some drugs and halve rebates for others, including Ozempic, from August.
Western Australia's largest private health insurer will slash rebates for weight loss drugs including Ozempic, saying the rise in claims has become unsustainable. Benefits for other medications will be halved, including those containing semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic.Ozempic, which was originally developed to help people with diabetes, has exploded in popularity as a weight loss drug since it came on the market in 2021, leading to worldwide shortages.
"These drugs make up about 40 per cent of that spend and they're only prescribed for about 3 per cent of our policyholders."However, Dr Henderson acknowledged that while they were prescribed off-schedule, the weight loss medications had real health benefits for patients. He questioned why a health insurer would treat weight loss differently to other treatments available like remedial massage or dental care.