Ozempic and Wegovy should be covered by Medicare as weight loss treatments: KFF poll
Ozempic and Wegovy should be covered by Medicare as weight loss treatments: KFF poll
About half of adults with insurance said they had trouble paying for weight loss drugs, according to a new survey, which are currently not covered by Medicare.
GLP-1 drugs such as Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy, and Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro—which are used to treat diabetes and heart disease—are having a moment in the sun as treatments for weight loss. While Wegovy has been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat weight loss and heart disease, Ozempic (which is the same drug as Wegovy just in a lower dose) and Mounjaro are only approved to treat diabetes.
KFF, a polling organization, surveyed 1,479 American adults in English and Spanish about their use of such drugs as well as their thoughts on them. Here are the key findings:
- Relatively few users: 12% of respondents said they’ve taken such drugs and 6% report currently using them. Of the people using these medications, 43% have diabetes, 26% have heart disease, and 22% are overweight or obese.
- Young adults are more likely to use these drugs for weight loss: Only 1% of people over the age of 65 used GLP-1 drugs for weight loss, compared to 7% of adults under 29.
- People want Medicare to cover weight loss drugs: 57% of people using GLP-1 drugs said they were partially covered by insurance and 24% said they were fully covered by insurance. However, about half of adults with insurance said they had at least some difficulty paying GLP-1 drugs. Overall, 61% of adults said they think Medicare should cover weight loss drugs for people who are overweight.
While some Medicare plans cover GLP-1 drugs for treating diabetes and heart disease, Medicare currently does not cover prescription drugs for weight loss, although some lawmakers are hoping to change that.
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