Despite new Wegovy coverage, Medicare patients may face high drug costs and other hurdles Elaine Chen By Elaine Chen March 22, 2024

https://www.statnews.com/2024/03/22/wegovy-medicare-heart-costs-novo-nordisk/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=299647194&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_M9PQAYa9OjdOdfT6HU9TCGhIlRxtyksALPRZfw14iT34mwjGaPZnMmp6xwOWKAflygVk7nf3X0XqTNumHkknng7DxSw&utm_content=299647194&utm_source=hs_email Medicare will cover Wegovy to prevent heart problems — but access could still be an issue Medicare confirmed last week that it will cover Novo Nordisk’s obesity drug Wegovy if prescribed to prevent heart problems. But policy experts say Medicare patients are still likely to encounter significant barriers getting access to the highly popular and expensive drug. The federal payer previously wasn’t reimbursing for Wegovy, since Medicare is legally barred from covering weight loss drugs. But the Food and Drug Administration this month approved Wegovy for preventing heart problems in people with obesity and heart disease, leading many to suspect that Medicare would start covering the drug for this usage. But there are still challenges ahead. “Even though Medicare is clarifying that they will reimburse for this indication, that does not necessarily mean that patients are going to have widespread access to the drug, at least not right away,” said Benedic Ippolito, an economist at the American Enterprise Institute. Read more from STAT’s Elaine Chen. Obesity drug Wegovy gets FDA approval to add cardiovascular benefits on its label Elaine Chen By Elaine Chen March 8, 2024 https://www.statnews.com/2024/03/08/obesity-heart-disease-wegovy-fda-expands-label-novo-nordisk/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=299647194&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8Gqz01tyVHUku31fSVQGVapwkfRXmhYWeavYLZDUmoMFTK5MvtgnTsnibaPp4SSrF4sGyQLQTfAamceIv9ZG-CYY_prw&utm_content=299647194&utm_source=hs_email Medicare couldn’t cover Wegovy for weight loss. But now that it’s also a heart drug, the door is open Rachel Cohrs By Rachel Cohrs March 14, 2024 https://www.statnews.com/2024/03/14/medicare-wegovy-fda-label-ruling-heart-health-benefits/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=299647194&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8NyVJI-6K4XlC20of1B1Ww81ZS_ZqTSBK4giuffu0-pIIMqwF8VMgCKEC2m8a_kS8InG7pJKA8sWeQAULIanItV0sVNw&utm_content=299647194&utm_source=hs_email