Fiscal impact of expanded Medicare coverage for GLP-1 receptor agonists to treat obesity

JAMA Health Forum

2025-04-25

(Press-News.org) About The Study: This economic evaluation estimates that expanded Medicare coverage for glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) would increase access and reduce obesity-related comorbidities but impose substantial costs over 10 years. Even with a moderate scenario (5% uptake, 20% adherence, and 30% additional price discount), net spending was still projected to reach $8 billion over a decade, underscoring the need for further price reductions, lower-cost strategies to prevent weight regain, and reductions in spending on low-value care.

Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, David D. Kim, PhD, email david.kim@bsd.uchicago.edu.

To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/

(doi:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2025.0905)

Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

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About JAMA Health Forum: JAMA Health Forum is an international, peer-reviewed, online, open access journal that addresses health policy and strategies affecting medicine, health and health care. The journal publishes original research, evidence-based reports and opinion about national and global health policy; innovative approaches to health care delivery; and health care economics, access, quality, safety, equity and reform. Its distribution will be solely digital and all content will be freely available for anyone to read.

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