From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know! The popularity of medications like Wegovy, Ozempic, Mounjaro and Zepbound for weight loss and obesity has skyrocketed in recent years, with both patients and health providers citing successful outcomes with continued use. But the sticker prices of these injectable drugs remain expensive – about $700 to $1,350 for a month’s supply at the highest – and the costs have fallen on patients and their insurance providers.
While there are some state and federal efforts to expand insurance coverage for these drugs in public programs like Medicaid and Medicare, some local private insurers like Independence Blue Cross (IBX) are restricting coverage. Beginning Jan. 1, people with IBX health plans will have to pay the full cost of GPL-1 agonists and other similar drugs when they are prescribed solely for weight loss.
IBX, the largest insurer in southeastern Pennsylvania, will continue to cover these medications when they are prescribed for people with conditions approved by the Food and Drug Administration, such as Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. People who get insurance through their employers may still get coverage if the individual companies or organizations decide to include weight loss drugs in their prescription plans. In a Nov.
1 notice to health plan members, IBX said the decision “was not made lightly” and that continued coverage of these high-pr.