Why Do People Stop Taking Weight Loss Drugs?
Only about one-third of patients prescribed a popular weight-loss drug like Novo Nordisk’s (NOVOb.CO) Wegovy were still taking it a year later, while total healthcare costs for the group rose sharply, according to an analysis of U.S. pharmacy claims shared with Reuters. The annual cost of overall care for patients prior to taking Wegovy or a similar drug was $12,371, on average, according to the analysis. The full-year cost after starting the medication jumped by 59% to $19,657, on average.
The costs for a similar control group of patients not taking the drugs decreased by 4% over the same period. The mean age of patients included in the analysis was 47 and 81% were female. Medicines such as Wegovy can cost more than $1,000 per month, and any improvement in health and subsequent reduction in medical costs is not likely to occur quickly.
“This analysis points to the fact that there can be a lot of spending on people that are not likely to reap any long-term health benefits,” said Khrysta Baig, a health policy researcher at Vanderbilt University who reviewed the findings for Reuters.
Excerpted from Reuters
