Tag: weight loss drugs

Obesity Crisis Meets Policy Standstill as Trump Halts Medicare Expansion

Ester Adams
Medicare’s role in weight-loss drug coverage

Trump Administration Reverses Plans to Expand Medicare Coverage for Obesity Drugs The Trump administration has officially halted a Biden-era initiative that aimed to extend Medicare and Medicaid coverage to include obesity drugs, a move set to impact millions of Americans coping with obesity, disproportionately affecting seniors and lower-income groups. While supporters saw the proposed expansion as a progressive step towards tackling one of the nation’s most pressing health challenges, critics have raised concerns over the potential cost burden. Below, we untangle the implications of this decision, exploring its economic, medical,…

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A Wake-Up Call for Healthcare? Inside Blue Cross Blue Shield MA Historic $400M Loss

Live Insurance News
Blue Cross Blue Shield MA Historic 400M Loss

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Reports Record $400.4M Loss in 2024 Healthcare Spending Surge Creates Financial Pressures Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA) ended 2024 with a staggering $400.4 million operating loss, marking the most severe financial setback in the nonprofit insurer’s history. The company attributed this decline to an unprecedented surge in healthcare spending, which has risen at its fastest pace in more than a decade. For context, the company’s largest prior loss, recorded in 2009, was $223.6 million—less than half of 2024’s figure. BCBSMA’s net loss…

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Many health insurance plans still won’t cover Wegovy despite new approval

H. Cutner
Health insurance - RX Meds Denied

Even though the drug has received approval for heart wellness use, not just weight loss, it’s frequently not covered. In the United States, Wegovy was previously only approved for use as a weight loss drug and was commonly not covered by health insurance plans.  Now, the headline-making drug has also been approved in the country for heart health, but this isn’t expected to broaden availability for its coverage. The Novo Nordisk drug is taken by injection on a weekly basis As a prescription weight loss drug – one of only…

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Health insurance could soon cover weight loss drug Wegovy

G. Turner
Health Insurance - Pills wrapped in measuring tape

Novo Nordisk announced that the highly popular drug could have expanded FDA approval in six months. Novo Nordisk recently announced that its headline-making weight loss drug Wegovy could receive expanded US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval within six months, opening the door to much more readily available coverage by health insurance plans. The drug is already highly sought-after, but is not necessarily covered by most policies. Novo Nordisk’s chief financial officer Karsten Munk Knudsen said that the company’s application for approval of Wegovy as a cardiovascular disease reduction medication…

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