A 2003 law currently prohibits Medicare from covering medications specifically for weight loss
By Physician’s Briefing Staff HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 13, 2023 (HealthDay News) — According to the latest University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging, about three in four older Americans (76 percent) believe Medicare should cover the cost of weight-loss medications like Ozempic, Wegovy, or Zepbound.
More than four out of five older adults (83 percent) think insurance companies should pay for drugs that help people with obesity manage their weight, according to poll results from more than 2,600 people ages 50 to 80 years.
A 2003 law currently prohibits Medicare from covering medications specifically for weight loss, although the federal insurance program can cover drugs that help people with type 2 diabetes manage their weight, researchers said in background notes.
In the poll, researchers found wide interest among older adults for using weight-loss drugs to drop extra pounds. About one in four poll respondents said they are overweight, and 63 percent of them are interested in taking a weight-loss medication. So are 45 percent of those who have diabetes, regardless of their weight. The drugs appear to make a good impression as well. Among those who had ever taken a weight-loss medication, 83 percent said they would do so again.
Poll results show that Ozempic/Wegovy has largely driven this new interest in weight-loss medications. The poll revealed that 61 percent of older adults had heard of the diabetes drug Ozempic, but only 18 percent had heard of the version approved specifically for weight loss, Wegovy. Other weight-loss drugs were much less familiar to poll respondents. Only 13 percent had heard of an older drug called phentermine, and just 3 percent had heard of Qsymia, Saxenda, or Contrave.
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