Recently, two studies published in the Journal of The American Medical Association investigated the return on investment associated with coverage of GLP-1 agonists in the treatment of obesity. The study titled “Fiscal Impact of Expanded Medicare Coverage for GLP-1 Receptor Agonists to Treat Obesity” evaluated what the 10-year fiscal impact on Medicare Part D would be if they were to cover GLP-1 agonists for obesity. Among 30 million cumulative Medicare beneficiaries, the analysis estimated that 3 million would receive treatment. Medicare’s total drug costs were projected at $65.9 billion and health care cost offsets from clinical benefits at $18.2 billion, resulting in net increased spending of $47.7 billion. However, these savings were estimated to remain less than additional spending on GLP-1 agonists and to extensively increase net spending. The study titled “Lifetime Health Effects and Cost-Effectiveness of Tirzepatide and Semaglutide in US Adults” evaluated 4 anti-obesity medications, tirzepatide and semaglutide were found to generate greater lifetime health gains by preventing diabetes, cardiovascular complications, and death compared to phentermine-topiramate and naltrexone-bupropion; however, they are not cost-effective at their current net prices.
