Many Insurers Don’t Cover Drugs For Weight Loss

Caroline-Apovian-300x300-150x150NPR “Shots Blog”

Caroline Apovian, MD, medicine and pediatrics

In December, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new obesity drug, Saxenda, the fourth prescription medicine the agency has given the green light to fight obesity since 2012. But even though two-thirds of adults are overweight or obese, there’s a good chance their insurer won’t cover Saxenda or other anti-obesity drugs…

Expert quote:

Dr. Caroline Apovian, director of the Nutrition and Weight Management Research Center at Boston University, says many of the patients she treats can’t afford to pay up to $200 a month out of pocket for obesity drugs.

“Coverage has to happen in order for the obesity problem to be taken care of,” says Apovian. “Insurance companies need to realize it’s not a matter of willpower, it’s a disease.”

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