About one-third of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ projected health budget shortfall in 2025 will come from the cost of new drugs, including weight-loss drugs like Wigovy and Zepbound, which are increasingly being prescribed to veterans.
Discussing with reporters on Monday the fix for the department’s projected funding shortfall in 2025, VA Health Secretary Dr. Sherif Elnahar said about $2 billion of the $6.6 billion requested by Congress will be spent on glucagon-like peptide 1. Said to be necessary for known weight loss drugs. or new drugs for diseases seen in veterans such as GLP-1, agonists, and metabolic dysfunction-related steatohepatitis or MASH, fatty liver disease.
“One of the reasons we need the funding is that we know there is a need for new drugs for obesity, and we see a need for new drugs for conditions that are common in veterans,” Elnahar said Monday. said in a phone call with reporters. “New drugs are on the market that will reduce cost burdens for veterans.”
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2020 Study on Obesity in Veterans by Texas State University College of Health Administration Researchers Approximately 70% were found to be overweight or obese. In 2014,
The VA estimated that 78% of enrolled veteran patients were overweight or obese. Excess weight is known to cause chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis, stroke, and certain types of cancer.
The Veterans Administration maintains its own pharmacy formulary and can determine which drugs the department covers, but it also looks to Medicare coverage for guidance. Elnahar said the Veterans Administration needs to be prepared to cover the cost of these medications.
On Tuesday, the Biden administration proposed expanding coverage of obesity drugs such as Wigoby, Ozempic, Munjaro, and Zepbound for Americans on Medicare and Medicaid.
Currently, federal health programs only cover the cost of these drugs (about $1,000 per month per patient) when prescribed for diabetes or heart disease risks.
Health and Human Services officials say the cost to cover more Medicare patients would be about $25 billion over 10 years, and $11 billion for Medicaid patients.
Biden’s proposed release of Medicare coverage for these drugs is the latest in a regulatory process that likely won’t be completed before President Donald Trump takes office on January 20 and brings his own health team to Washington. It marks the beginning.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, said he does not support medication for weight loss and prefers healthy eating over drugs.
During an interview with Kennedy, FOX News, October 19th “One-fifth” of the cost of a proposed bill in Congress to cover all counseling and weight-loss drugs for overweight Americans would provide “three quality meals a day for every man, woman, and child.” “This will solve obesity,” he said. And overnight, diabetes became an epidemic. ”
”[The manufacturers] We’re so stupid and addicted to drugs that we expect Americans to sell it to us,” Kennedy said.
Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, a physician, introduced a Medicare bill last year that would cover weight loss counseling and anti-obesity drugs.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, President Trump’s nominee to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, expressed support for the drug, although he said more research is needed. on Instagram in 2023.
“Regardless of your weight, I respect you. But for people who want to lose a few pounds, Ozempic and other semaglutide drugs can be a huge help. We want to make it as easy as possible for people to reach their health goals. “You need to be, period,” Oz said.
In March, the FDA approved Rezdifla, the first treatment for steatohepatitis associated with metabolic dysfunction, but the company priced it at $47,400 annually, before discounts and negotiations.
According to the Veterans Administration, more than 30 percent of veterans receiving VA health care have MASH and other risk factors for fatty liver disease.
The Veterans Administration said Monday it will need an additional $6.6 billion to cover fiscal year 2025 health care costs, beyond the roughly $300 billion requested in the budget, after reviewing 2024 spending, savings and estimates of future health care costs. announced that it would be necessary.
That figure is lower than the estimated $12 billion shortfall cited by authorities earlier this year.
“We need more funding to continue our commitment to providing more care to our veterans than ever before,” Elnahar said.
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