Minnesota lawmakers are once again calling on insurance companies to cover anti-obesity medications like Ozempic and Wegovy as more Americans flock to the drugs to help lose weight.
The call for action comes through a new bill, at a time when demand for the drugs is higher than ever. In fact, in 2024 alone, more than 600,000 prescriptions for the medications were dispersed in Minnesota, a 13% increase from 2023, according to an Axios report.
The annual cost of a GLP-1 medication, the revolutionary diabetes drug that has been found to help users also trim back their waistline, can be $11,000 or more for those without insurance.
As a means of attacking these high prices, a new bill would mandate coverage for the “management and treatment of obesity,” including through FDA-approved weight loss drugs.
However, the bill doesn’t stop there, as it also looks to provide coverage for bariatric surgery and “evidence-based” behavioral and lifestyle interventions like nutrition counseling, when being used to help treat obesity.
Experts have pointed to the benefits of the medications, which have helped Americans lose weight while at the same time reducing their risk for more serious conditions like heart attacks and strokes.
One point of contention for the coverage mandate is that the Affordable Care Act requires states to help cover private insurers’ costs for mandates that go beyond what is required by federal law.
This means that the state could be responsible for an estimated $2.6 million to $8 million in the first year, according to an analysis of an earlier version of the bill from the Minnesota Commerce Department.
Richfield Rep. Mike Howard (DFL) shared with Axios that he has constituents whose insurance companies have decided to stop coverage of their GLP-1 treatments.
“That is a huge blow for somebody to go from having it covered to potentially paying more than $1,000 a month,” Howard, who reintroduced the bill in the House this year, shared with the outlet. “People should be able to access the health care they need at a price they can afford.”
As the state looks to push through its own mandate, eyes are on Washington as it looks to see if the Trump administration will uphold the Biden proposal to require the drugs be covered by Medicare and Medicaid.