Next-Gen Weight-Loss Drugs Receive Tentative Embrace by Medicaid

A small but growing number of state Medicaid programs are negotiating discounts for a high-priced weight-loss drug in a bid to hold down costs as low-income patients increasingly seek obesity treatment.

Nine states from California to Rhode Island have begun to cover expensive, next-generation weight-loss drugs like Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy on their Medicaid preferred drug lists. Preferred drug status allows patients to receive coverage for weight-loss drugs without the need to undergo step therapy, where patients are required to try less expensive and potentially less efficacious drugs before receiving their original drug of choice.

The move to cover weight-loss ...