The cost of diet drugs: a problem for individuals but also states

I was interested to see this item in Politico: Diet drug boom weighs heavily on state budgets.

Soaring costs of weight-loss drugs are leading some states to scrap the benefit for state employees…After Colorado’s spending on the highly effective but costly drugs classified as GLP-1s, which include Ozempic and Wegovy, more than quadrupled from 2023 to 2024 — with usage doubling every six months — the state health plan is proposing ending coverage, arguing it’s financially unsustainable….Michigan, which covers about 49,000 state employees, spent $5.2 million on weight-loss drugs in 2022. That number skyrocketed to $17.5 million in 2023 and $36 million in 2024.

Politico points out that “the number of Americans taking the drugs for weight loss rose more than 700 percent between 2019 and 2023.”

If the Republicans succeed in slashing Medicaid, those costs will also go to states.

Lilly is offering cost savings for some Zepbound users, but the drugs will still run around $500 a month—$6000 per year.

Making America Healthy Again means having a health care system—including drugs—that is accessible and affordable for all Americans.

Time to speak up everyone.

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