Dóchas Life Sciences’ Post

A step forward for obesity treatment! Medicare will cover Wegovy, a GLP-1 agonist, for patients with overweight/obesity and established cardiovascular disease to prevent heart attacks and stroke. This is a highly effective weight loss medication (when used in combination with healthy nutrition and increased physical activity) that will now be available to many patients who previously were not able to get it through insurance. The out of pocket cost is $1000+ per month so not many are able to afford it without coverage. https://lnkd.in/gWi9CcbS

By law, Medicare is prohibited from covering drugs prescribed for weight loss but will cover drugs that are effective for weight loss if approved for other indications, like heart disease or diabetes. FDA's recent actions have opened the door for Medicare to cover Wegovy for millions of people with obesity and heart disease, on the heels of Medicare coverage of Ozempic for people with diabetes. Together, these changes could lower the CBO cost estimate for legislation that would allow Medicare to cover drugs for weight loss. NEW KFF brief: https://lnkd.in/gt8ipsee

Medicare is Increasing GLP-1 Coverage. Wegovy, initially approved to treat type-2 diabetes, was recently approved to also treat cardiovascular disease. Here’s the breakdown: -Around 3.6 million members could qualify -Some plans are adding to 2024 coverage, wider adoption likely in 2025 -Potential Medicare cost estimated around $3 billion Read the full story ➡ https://lnkd.in/ghhZ_mjb #Pharmacy #Healthcare

If the federal government’s proposed list of diabetes medications for national pharmacare is implemented, hospitalizations, specialist interventions, disease complications and premature deaths will increase. Canada’s governments should focus on providing innovative medicines that can decrease the need for other services, reduce complications and extend lives, not on rationing or denying them. #medicines #pharmacare #canada https://lnkd.in/g5QywJkz

CMS guidance for anti-obesity medications was quicker than expected. The next step is to see if Medicare Part D plans really take up this guidance and how it will look like on the frontlines with prior authorizations. #obesity #cardiac

With 1 in 8 people in the world living with obesity, the convenience of online shopping and food delivery has only added to the challenge, especially with previous COVID lockdowns. It is promising to see emerging medications like Ozempic (FDA approved since 2017 for diabetes management) and Wegovy, were once used to manage diabetes, can now assist with weight loss. It is also very interesting to see them being covered by medical insurance to prevent heart attacks and stroke in high risk patients. https://lnkd.in/dCivBAvZ

A landmark day in obesity care! Medicare issues guidance that Medicare Part D plans can consider Semaglutide for individuals with obesity and cardiovascular disease. This is an IMPORTANT step forward in the larger needed landscape of obesity care. Thank you to #NovoNordisk and all of the trial participants and investigators for being brave enough to dig in and complete a long and costly trial #SELECT I look forward to Medicare coverage and our ability to negotiate medication cost at the federal level as many other countries do already so that all individuals living with obesity both with and without CVD can access care. #obesity #obesitycare #UTCOMMP #Antiobesitymedication #AOM #obesitymedicine https://lnkd.in/g4a4Ad_n

Exciting News in Healthcare! According to Biopharma Dive, Medicare is set to reimburse Novo Nordisk's Wegovy for treating obesity and heart disease. Wegovy, which is already approved by the FDA for chronic weight management, has shown remarkable efficacy in reducing body weight and addressing related comorbidities, including cardiovascular risks. Now, with Medicare's decision to reimburse for this treatment, millions of individuals struggling with obesity and its associated health complications will have greater access to potentially life-changing care. Check out the article below: #HealthcareInnovation #Wegovy #ObesityTreatment #HeartDisease #MedicareCoverage #NovoNordisk #HealthcareAccessibility

"You cannot learn what you think you already know." – Epictetus Much of what some prescribers have stated in news stories and even here about compounded drugs is simply inaccurate and misinformed. As Dr. Einav indicates in his piece, FDA-approved drugs should ALWAYS be the first line of therapy. But it's simply not rational, fair, or compassionate to say to a patient when a life-changing medication is in shortage that they'll just need to do without – particularly when compounding pharmacies are using the EXACT SAME API made by the EXACT SAME CONTRACT MANUFACTURERS that supply the drug manufacturers and ADHERING TO THE EXACT SAME FORMULA used by the drug manufacturers (Fun fact: It's printed in the insert for the branded drug). True, compounded drugs are not FDA-approved. That's why they are not a first-line therapy. But FDA approval is no guarantee of safety, and absence of FDA approval does not mean unsafe. Is the risk higher? Perhaps. But it's a leap to jump from "higher-risk" to "unsafe." And all that bluster about not knowing what's in a compounded medication? Total nonsense. Compounded drugs come with a certificate of analysis attesting to purity, plus compounding labs submit their preparations for third party testing.

Champion Needed If you have Type 1 diabetes (T1D) and have been prescribed Levemir you may want to have a word with your Member of Parliament. The makers, Novo Nordisk have decided to stop selling its long-acting insulin Levemir in the United States and this has left some people with diabetes struggling to switch treatments. The Danish drugmaker said in November it would halt US sales of Levemir by the end of 2024. According to Novo as many health plans in the USA no longer cover the drug, which went off patent in 2019, there are other options for patients on the market. What happens in the US soon happens in the UK and among people with T1D Levemir is commonly prescribed to give people a base level of insulin behind the faster acting insulins they usually also take. For many, alternative insulins do not give the same degree of control, the essential aim to prevent life threatening changes, and as has been the case with other insulin switches a loss of control can often result while the person with diabetes adjusts to the new treatment. Some are never able to recapture the control they enjoyed before when such changes are forced on them by the drug companies. Ask your MP to look into this with the appropriate Minister for Health, or even the Secretary of State. Is there an MP in the new Parliament who could champion this and other diabetes issues? www.pdgn.org.uk can help them.