M.D. Anderson – Houston, is one heck of an expensive hospital. Some say they print money there. If that’s true you would think they could afford the best health plan on the planet.
Alas, as part of the University of Texas System, M.D. Anderson – Houston no longer covers weight loss drugs for their employees.
Neither does the North Carolina State Employee Health Plan – The State Health Plan stopped covering weight loss drugs such as Wegovy and Zepbound on Monday. The plan’s board of trustees voted 4-3 in January to end coverage of the drugs for the more than 700,000 state employees and their family members who get their health care through the State Health Plan.
Neither does Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Michigan – Jan. 1, 2025 – Coverage for GLP-1 weight loss drugs for fully-insured large group commercial members will end starting Jan. 1, 2025. For group members with a plan renewal date other than Jan. 1, the coverage will end on the renewal date.
Neither does Acension Health. Ascension employs about 139,000 people and operates 139 hospitals in 19 states. Effective July 1, 2023, the Ascension Health employee health plan stopped covering weight loss drugs. The coverage exclusion applies to drugs approved for weight loss by the FDA, such as the GLP-1 medications Wegovy and Saxenda, as well as other medication classes approved for this purpose. The exclusion will apply to such drugs that may gain FDA approval in the future.
These are just a few examples of plan sponsors dropping coverage for high cost weight loss drugs. More plan sponsors are dropping coverage for weight loss drugs too. In the alternative there is growing interest in implementing diabetes and weight management programs.
