A New Use for Wegovy Opens the Door to Medicare Coverage for Millions of People with Obesity Juliette Cubanski, Tricia Neuman, Nolan Sroczynski, and Anthony Damico Published: Apr 24, 2024

https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/a-new-use-for-wegovy-opens-the-door-to-medicare-coverage-for-millions-of-people-with-obesity/?utm_campaign=KFF-This-Week&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8Puw-q6--aErh_NrkEFWehNxEXpsvVuqqHZrbI7PKlXI9CCpmaVDWVlV46YbI7Iv9sGwe1tlwEuQRqv3RYGPlw-Uuyww&_hsmi=304508415&utm_content=304508415&utm_source=hs_email The FDA recently approved a new use for Wegovy, the anti-obesity drug, to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in people with cardiovascular disease who are overweight or obese - a decision that opens the door to Medicare coverage of Wegovy, which is prohibited by law from covering drugs used for obesity. In a new analysis, we examine how many Medicare beneficiaries could be eligible for the new use of Wegovy and the potential impact on Medicare spending.