Medical Xpress January 23, 2025
Shalina Chatlani

The skyrocketing popularity of weight-loss drugs like Wegovy, one of a class of drugs called GLP-1s, is fast becoming a state budgetary concern. In deciding whether to cover the medications, policymakers must choose between the long-term benefits of reducing obesity among public employees and their families—which could cut spending on the treatment of chronic diseases—and the short-term costs.

Separately, 13 state Medicaid programs, including North Carolina’s, have opted to cover GLP-1s for obesity. But Medicaid is jointly funded by the federal government and the states, and drugmakers are required to offer significant rebates to those programs in exchange for coverage of their products. The insurance plans that cover public employees largely have to bear the costs themselves.

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Topics: Biotechnology, Govt Agencies, Patient / Consumer, Pharma / Biotech, States
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