Weight loss drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound have been hailed as a revolution. Yet the high cost and lack of insurance coverage make them largely unattainable.
Dr. Laure DeMattia, a bariatric medicine specialist in Norman, Oklahoma, feels the frustration of her patients as they struggle to lose weight.
Almost all of her patients at a weight-loss clinic in the suburbs south of Oklahoma City could be helped by the new class of medications such as Ozempic and Wegovy — if they could afford them.
“My patients have already done Weight Watchers, Nutrisystem. They’ve done the high protein, low carb,” she said. “They’ve already done as much as they thought was physically possible to alter their diet and exercise.”
What many of them haven’t done is take a monthly injection of semaglutide or tirzepatide. DeMattia can give them a prescription for Wegovy or Zepbound, but that’s just the beginning. They then face a complicated, often frustrating battle to pay for the expensive medications.
“Our Medicare and Medicaid populations are some of the most at-risk and they do not have access to any anti-obesity medication,” she said.
Do these drugs have health benefits for people who are merely overweight but not obese? I feel like the stigma around not “earning” weight loss could be restricting their use to only cases of extreme need but I haven’t researched this.
Yes. Basically anyone who takes them lose weight. There is a 15% reduction in body weight for anyone on the drugs. That’s a 30lb weight loss for a 200lb person, which is huge.
Good article, thank you. Interesting that it’s only offered for 30+ bmi unless there are other associated health issues. Given that there is some evidence of thyroid cancer risk, and given the high cost, I guess they have to balance it against the potential benefits. Which I assume are higher the for people with higher bmi.