BCBS of MA announces today, they will no longer cover GLP1″s for weight loss beginning on plan anniversary dates in 2026.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Will Stop Covering Popular Drugs For Weight Loss. Here’s Why
Story by Brandon Truitt
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts says it will soon stop covering popular drugs for weight loss, like Ozempic and Wegovy.
The medications have skyrocketed in price and popularity, but they’re now being blamed for crippling budgets in the public and private sector. As one of the fastest growing classes of medications, GLP-1 weight-loss drugs were originally brought on the market to treat diabetes. But their secondary use as a way for users to suppress diets and slim down sent sales through the roof.
“The insurers need to draw a line in the sand and play hardball with these big pharma companies, said Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts.
The group has 4,000 members. Most of them are small businesses who said they had faced double digit premium increases year to year
“Right now, if you have a mandated coverage on insurance at very high reimbursement rates and high usage, it’s going straight to the bottom line,” said Hurst. “These pharma companies have to decide which is more important to them, very high premiums or very high costs. Reimbursements for these drugs or high volume. They can’t have both.”
Mass. GIC requests additional $240 million
On the same day the BCBS news broke, the Massachusetts Group Insurance Commission met on Beacon Hill to go over a budget shortfall. The GIC has 460,000 members and provides insurance to state employees and their families.
In their monthly meeting, Executive Director Matthew Veno laid out the challenges GLP-1 drugs were putting on their budget.
