Nearly 1 in 8 adults in the United States has used a GLP-1 drug, such as Ozempic or Mounjaro, according to new survey data from healthcare policy think tank KFF.
According to the survey, 12% of adults reported taking the revolutionary class of drugs to lose weight or treat chronic conditions, such as heart disease or obesity.
Of those who have taken the drug, 43% said they did so to treat Type 2 diabetes, and 26% said they were prescribed the medication to manage heart disease. Only 22% said they were recommended the medication for obesity.
Among the class of GLP-1 drugs, which are once-weekly injectables, Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro are only approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat diabetes, but doctors sometimes prescribe the medications off-label to treat other conditions.
Lilly’s Zepbound was approved last year in competition with Novo’s Wegovy, both of which are FDA-cleared for weight loss in those who are medically overweight or obese. Wegovy also secured FDA approval to treat heart disease in March.
Drugmakers have struggled to keep up with sky-high demand for the breakthrough medications, with Novo reporting last week that at least 25,000 people in the U.S. are starting Wegovy each week.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 36 million Americans have Type 2 diabetes. Similarly, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S., accounting for 1 in every 5 deaths annually.
Over 1 in 3 men and women in the U.S. are medically overweight, and more than 2 in 5 are obese, according to the National Institutes of Health.
List prices for GLP-1 drugs in the U.S. are high, ranging between $936 and $1,349 before insurance, rebates, and coupons.
Nearly 60% of insured patients said their plan covered a portion of their GLP-1 prescription cost, and slightly under 1 in 4 said insurance covered the entire cost of their prescription.
Over half of respondents, including those with health insurance, said it was either “somewhat” or “very” difficult to afford the drug.
Overall, the KFF survey found that adults between 50 and 64 were most likely to have used a GLP-1 drug, but younger patients were more likely to have used them exclusively for weight loss.
Of adults over 65, only 8% said they had taken a GLP-1 medication for a chronic condition, and only 1% said they had used it to lose weight. However, nearly 40% of adults in this age bracket have been told by a doctor in the past five years that they are either obese or overweight.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Medicare explicitly prohibits the coverage of prescription weight-loss medication, but some Medicare prescription plans cover the cost of GLP-1s for diabetes or heart disease treatment.
The KFF poll found strong support across partisan lines for having Medicare cover GLP-1 drugs for weight loss treatment, including 55% of Republicans and 66% of Democrats.
