heartdiseasefacts.com
[ad_1]
Medicare will now cover Wigovy (semaglutide) for people who are overweight or obese and at high risk for heart attack, stroke, and other potentially life-threatening cardiovascular diseases.
Weight loss drugs have long been excluded from Medicare coverage. However, a spokesperson for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said in an emailed statement that following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) decision earlier this month to approve Wegovy for heart attack and stroke prevention. He said Medicare was the impetus for adding the drug. Comply with Part D prescription drug plans.
Other anti-obesity drugs remain uncovered, and Wegovy’s coverage remains limited to heart patients who could benefit from weight loss.
A CMS spokesperson said, “Drugs that are FDA-approved solely for chronic weight management are not considered Part D drugs.” “If this same drug was also approved by the FDA to treat diabetes and reduce the risk of serious adverse cardiovascular events in obese or overweight adults with established cardiovascular disease, then It would be considered a Part D drug for exclusive use.”
Currently, Wegovy is the only FDA-approved weight loss drug that meets this criteria.
Wegovy offers a clear survival advantage
Melanie Jay, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor and director of obesity research at New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine in New York City, says Wegovy’s apparent survival benefit in this trial helped it gain FDA approval and Medicare coverage.
“I think it took a long time for obesity to be fully recognized as a disease,” Dr. Jay says. “There is still a lot of stigma around obesity, and policy makers may believe that the development of obesity is the patient’s fault.”
On the other hand, there aren’t many studies showing that weight-loss drugs can prolong life, Jay said.
“I think Medicare will only cover drugs that have proven risk reduction, so I don’t see it expanding to something like tirzepatide (Zepbound) yet,” says Beth Israel Deaconess Medical. says Jodi Duchey, M.D., an endocrinologist and MD at the center. Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School in Boston. The same goes for older weight loss drugs like Qsymia (phentermine/topiramate) and Contrave (naltrexone/bupropion).
In addition to this, ongoing drug shortages currently make it difficult for Medicare patients eligible for Wegovy to access the drug, especially at low starting doses, which is necessary to minimize side effects at the beginning of treatment. Dr. Duchey says it could be.
Wegovy continues to be in short supply
“Right now, there is a severe and seemingly endless shortage of Wegoby in starting doses,” Duchey said. “So, practically speaking, we don’t know how people will actually be able to get this drug over the next few months.”
But in the long term, one benefit of Medicare’s decision to cover Wegobee is that private insurers, which provide employee health benefits to millions of Americans, may soon follow suit. That’s something that could be done, said Dr. Adam Gilden, an associate professor at the University of Colorado Graduate School. He is an M.D. and vice director of the CU Weight Management and Wellness Clinic in Aurora.
“Typically, private insurance follows Medicare,” Dr. Gilden says.
Muscle loss is a concern for older adults taking Wegovy
One concern as more patients, especially older people, take Wegovy is that the drug may cause so-called sarcopenia, a gradual loss of muscle mass that usually occurs with age. is. Although rapid weight loss can cause sarcopenia at any age, the concern is greater in older adults, who are already at higher risk and may become frail and more prone to falls and fractures as muscle function declines. It will increase.
“I think we’re always concerned about older adults developing sarcopenia, where muscle is replaced with fat,” says Shawna Levy, assistant professor at Tulane University School of Medicine and medical director of the Tulane Weight Loss Center. says the medical doctor. “Wegovy can speed this up.”
But Wegovy’s benefits, especially for cardiovascular disease, outweigh the risks, Dr. Levy says. “Users of these drugs should continue to exercise, especially resistance training, as much as possible within their schedules to minimize muscle loss.”
[ad_2]
Source link
