Ozempic’s Off-Label Use Sends $1 Million Demand to Prescribers

A major US insurer is taking an unusually hard line on doctors who it says improperly prescribed the diabetes treatment Ozempic, escalating the ongoing war over drugs that have become wildly popular for weight loss.

Elevance Health Inc.’s Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield requested money from health-care providers and alleged they falsified patients’ medical records in ways that led the insurer to cover the medications. The amount demanded in a few cases totaled more than $1 million, according to records reviewed by Bloomberg.

The providers dispute Anthem’s claims, saying they prescribed the shots appropriately. They didn’t get any money for ...