Weight loss Coverage

Small percentage of NC teens using Medicaid for Wegovy

Weight-loss medication Wegovy has quickly become a popular aid to weight management for many patients.

NC teens using Wegovy: Impact of weight loss medications on teens

Weight-loss medication Wegovy has quickly become a popular aid to weight management for many patients.

Grace Hayba, WRAL health reporter

US Senate committee investigates weight-loss drug costs as NC negotiates with manufacturer

A U.S. Senate committee is investigating the prices that Novo Nordisk charges for its blockbuster medications, Ozempic and Wegovy. North Carolina officials, who canceled coverage of the drugs over costs, are trying to negotiate lower prices with the drug maker.

Dani Blum, New York Times

State Health Plan ask for public's help in lowering cost of weight-loss drugs

Officials for the state government, and drugmakers including Novo Nordisk, have shot down each others' offers to negotiate on weight-loss drug coverage since state workers and their families lost coverage.

Jack Hagel, WRAL News

Weight-loss drug coverage ends for state employees. NC treasurer says negotiations ongoing with drugmakers

State Treasurer Dale Folwell says he and other State Health Plan leaders have been trying to reach a better financial deal with the companies who make the drugs such as Wegovy. The talks have gone nowhere, he says.

Will Doran, WRAL state government reporter

Medicare spending on Ozempic and similar diabetes drugs soars, study finds, and it could end up costing seniors

(CNN) -- Medicare shelled out $5.7 billion on Ozempic and other similar diabetes drugs in 2022, up from $57 million in 2018, according to a new KFF analysis.

By Tami Luhby, CNN

What the 'Oprah Effect' could mean for the future of weight loss drugs

Oprah Winfrey leaves the Weight Watchers board of directors, announcing she's using weight loss drugs.

TRESSIE McMILLAN COTTOM: Oprah, Ozempic and us

Thursday, March 21, 2024 -- Oprah Winfrey is back and she wants to talk about losing weight. ... Viewed at a distance and as a whole, the one-hour program was a harbinger of how the weight-loss industry is rebranding: Obesity is a disease and -- for the first time -- it's not your fault.

Intermittent fasting: Your heart, your health, your waistline

(CNN) -- Intermittent fasting is one of the many trendy ways people try to lose or maintain their weight.

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN

Oprah Winfrey shares why she was motivated to host weight loss special

Winfrey has gone public with the fact that weight loss medication is among the tools she is using to help her in her well-documented efforts against obesity.

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

Drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy could strengthen the US economy, Goldman Sachs predicts

Goldman Sachs argues that since poor health unambiguously weighs on the economy, improving health outcomes due to GLP-1s could lower costs and boost productivity, shoring up economic output.

The questions eating disorder experts have about weight loss medications

(CNN) -- There is still much researchers don't know about popular weight loss medications -- and those lack of studies could have consequences for eating disorders, according to experts.

By Madeline Holcombe, CNN

On the Record: Experts share the facts regarding medications that treat obesity

A new class of medications to treat obesity is surging in popularity in the U.S. WRAL's Lena Tillett speaks with a full panel of experts to bring the facts and hear first-hand accounts from people familiar with drugs such as Wegovy and Ozempic

Where obesity is worst not necessarily where weight-loss drugs are being prescribed

Counties most impacted by obesity aren't the ones where people are seeking out prescriptions for ​​GLP-1 drugs most.

Weight loss drug prescribing practices don't match up with the obesity rates, data shows

Counties most impacted by obesity aren't the ones where people are seeking out prescriptions for ​​GLP-1 drugs most.

Ali Ingersoll, WRAL Data Journalist

NC state health plan will no longer cover weight loss drugs

The state health plan's governing board voted Thursday to phase out coverage of existing prescriptions for Wegovy and other GLP-1 drugs used for weight loss as of April 1, 2024.

NC state health plan votes to end all coverage for Wegovy and other weight-loss drugs

The state health plan's governing board voted Thursday to phase out coverage of existing prescriptions for Wegovy and other weight-loss drugs as of April 1.

Laura Leslie, WRAL capitol bureau chief

Loss of drug rebate costs North Carolina State Health Plan

The state health plan stopped covering new prescriptions for weight-loss drugs to save money. That move will cost the state $54 million because of the terms of a drugmaker's contract.

Cutting weight-loss drug costs comes at high price for NC health plan

The state health plan stopped covering new prescriptions for weight-loss drugs to save money. That move will cost the state $54 million because of the terms of a drugmaker's contract.

Laura Leslie, WRAL capitol bureau chief

Ditch the diet and try this instead

This year, ditch the diet mentality and instead focus on making long-term, effective changes.

Dr. Christopher McGowan

High cost of weight loss drugs driving counterfeits

Drugs like Ozempic and Orgovid run about $1,000 per dose, and many insurers do not cover the cost.

Eating a low-carb diet based on meat? You may gain weight later on, study finds

People who ate an unhealthy, meat-based low-carb diet gained weight over time compared with those who followed a heathier, plant-based version, the study found.

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN

FDA says it's seized 'thousands of units' of counterfeit Ozempic in supply chain

The US Food and Drug Administration warned Thursday that it's seized "thousands of units" of counterfeit versions of the type 2 diabetes drug Ozempic from the US drug supply chain, and it's urging suppliers, pharmacies and patients to use caution.

By Jen Christensen, CNN

To keep pounds off, patients may need to continue taking weight loss drug, study suggests

(CNN) -- People who take the new injectable medication tirzepatide - brand-named Zepbound - to shed pounds will need to stay on it if they want to keep the weight off, a new study confirms.

By Brenda Goodman, CNN

Users of diabetes drug Mounjaro lost more weight than those on Ozempic, large study finds

(CNN) -- Overweight and obese adults who took the injected medication Mounjaro lost more weight and were more likely to meet specific weight loss targets than people on a similar competitor, Ozempic, according to a new study of people taking the drugs in the real world.

By Brenda Goodman, CNN