BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders this week launched an investigation into the pricing of Ozempic and Wegovy, two drugs that are highly effective at treating diabetes and obesity, but now carry steep price tags. It comes as state officials and lawmakers weigh whether to expand Medicaid coverage that includes their prescription.
The Vermont Department of Health’s Susan Kemp has watched obesity rates in the state rise slowly during her tenure on the job. In 1990, 11% of Vermonters were considered obese. Nearly 35 years later, that number has risen to 27%. And that’s not the only increase in weight gain diseases. “The diabetes rate is 8% of Vermonters,” Kemp said. According to the CDC, that’s double what it was in 2000.
Obesity and Type 2 diabetes can be genetic or brought on by lifestyle choices. For years, experts have tried to find weight loss treatments for the obesity epidemic and diabetes. When Ozempic and Wegovy were put on the market, many people thought it was groundbreaking, including Clara Keegan, a primary care doctor at the UVM Medical Center. “What’s amazing about them is that they change the metabolism in a way we haven’t seen before,” Keegan said.
She says she hasn’t been able to prescribe the drugs for months due to shortages and supply chain issues. The category of weight loss drugs — known as GLP-1 agonists — also can cost patients $1,000 a month. But a study from Yale University released last month shows they can be made for less than $5.
Senator Bernie Sanders this week launched an investigation, sending a letter to the drugs’ manufacturer, Novo Nordisk, saying their prices might bankrupt Medicare, Medicaid, and the country’s entire health care system.
Alex McCracken with the Vermont Department of Health Access said a preliminary analysis of GLP-1 drugs into Medicaid coverage would be expensive. “For a few hundred members, we’re looking at an annual cost in the millions,” McCracken says the diseases are already burdening our health care system.
According to Sanders, diabetes drugs already cost Vermont $520 million annually. If drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are the miracle to treating obesity, experts say it will be a costly cure. “There’s some hope that these medications will become more affordable. and in the current landscape, they are popular, they are pricey, and they are effective,” McCracken said.