France to expand access to weight-loss drugs for obesity patients

France will partially reimburse weight-loss drugs Wegovy and Mounjaro for severely obese patients. The reimbursement rate is set at 65 percent and will be announced by Health Minister Stephanie Rist, then published in the official journal the next day. Eligibility will begin in mid-June. Patients with severe to morbid obesity will gain access to the expensive injections with reduced personal payment. Previously, patients paid about €300 per month out of pocket. The drugs have been available by prescription since 2024, but reimbursement by national health insurance had not been approved. In June 2025, all doctors were allowed to prescribe these drugs. More than 70,000 patients were treated with Mounjaro in France as of late January, and about 18 percent of the population is obese.

"The French state will soon partially reimburse the cost of weight-loss drugs Wegovy and Mounjaro for severely obese patients, expanding access to the expensive drugs, two informed sources told AFP on Wednesday. Wegovy, produced by Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, and Eli Lilly's Mounjaro are among a new generation of weight-loss drugs that have proven remarkably effective, hugely popular and lucrative in the past few years, though they do have some drawbacks."

"Health Minister Stephanie Rist is set to announce the reimbursement scheme, set at 65 percent, on Thursday, before it is published in the official journal of new legislation the following day, the sources said. Patients with severe to morbid obesity will be eligible from mid-June. High prices for the drugs have been a longstanding problem all over the world including France, where patients pay around €300 a month out of pocket for the injections."

""For us, this is excellent news," Anne-Sophie Joly, president of the National Collective of Obesity Associations, told AFP. "Patients and patient associations are very happy, because a disadvantaged family obviously cannot afford to spend more than €300 per month on medication when they are already struggling to make ends meet," she said. The therapy has been available in France by prescription since 2024, but has not been approved for reimbursement by the national health insurance system until now."

"In June 2025, France allowed all doctors, rather than just specialists such as endocrinologists, to prescribe such drugs. As of late January, more than 70,000 patients were being treated with Mounjaro in France, according to estimates. According to a French study published in 2024, around 18 percent of the French population -- equivalent to around ten million people -- are obese."

Read at The Local France