Obesity is complicated: How best to cover, or not cover, the new weight loss drugs

This seems like a golden age for those struggling with weight. The arrival of Ozempic, Wegovy, and other GLP-1 agonists is offering hope where there was none. It’s also presenting employers across our country with a tough decision: how best to cover, or not to cover, such high-demand, high-cost drugs?

The headlines make it all sound so simple, an easy “yes, definitely,” but the best counsel is actually to take a beat and zoom out. Before handing over the syringe, companies debating whether or not to cover for these medications should study the big picture first, and look at the facts as we know them.

 For a huge swath of the US population, about 40% of us, there now exists a therapeutic approach outside of surgery that could make life remarkably better. It could help people achieve a lower body mass index (BMI), live healthier and happier, and, to the benefit of their workplace, perhaps even more productively. That’s the big picture. Now for some of the facts.