Patients fear losing access to affordable weight loss drugs amid FDA crackdown 02:55. CHARLESTON, S.C. — When Page Campbell's doctor recommended that she try an injectable prescription drug ...

Administration officials reversed a decision made during the Biden presidency that would have given millions of people access to weight-loss drugs paid for Medicare and Medicaid. By Margot Sanger ...

But commercial plans apply access restrictions to just 35% of the drugs they cover. The percentage of covered drugs subject to access restrictions is 49% at Medicare plans and 63% at Medicaid plans.

A survey of employers finds that only about a fifth of large companies cover drugs like Wegovy for weight loss. A majority of companies that do cover the medicines have requirements.

Perspectives > The Health Docket Medicare Can Cover Anti-Obesity Drugs for Heart Disease -- But at What Cost? — Intense demand coupled with high costs may place pressures on CMS for years to come ...

While employers typically cover the medications for diabetes, fewer of them do so for weight loss, in part because of the drugs’ high prices — which have also limited Americans’ access to them.

North Carolina is not the first state to cover GLP-1 drugs in Medicaid, but others have done so more tentatively, often establishing complicated rules and barriers to care.

Ozempic and other similar drugs, such as Wegovy and Zepbound, can help people lose weight by controlling appetite and reducing cravings. But the drugs can be pricey, with 30-day prescriptions ...