Demand for anti-obesity medications is expected to grow exponentially this year as a shortage eases and several new drugs come on the market. But the drugs cost $1,000 a month or more per person – and they need to be taken indefinitely.
If spotty health insurance coverage for anti-obesity medications is allowed to continue, it will probably worsen economic and ethnic disparities, especially among children, Cawley said.
"This aggravates the obesity issue and makes it even worse by not providing appropriate treatment for it, despite the fact that it's available," he said.Right now, the burden of paying for weight loss treatments typically falls to the patient. The majority of health plans don't cover the cost of weight loss medications, and neither do government programs like Medicare. , said 40 million American adults have at least some insurance coverage for Wegovy.
The lack of coverage at least partially explains why only about 2% of Americans with obesity have historically been treated with either weight loss medications or surgery. The arrival of these new expensive medications might also be a boon to less expensive, less effective drugs already on the market, he said."We may also see some attempt to have patients use the most affordable drugs first."Commercial insurers should cover the medications, too, he said. But while it seems as if they'd save money if people lose weight, these cost offsets will happen many years in the future, by which point the patient may have switched coverage plans.
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