"Until this year, drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy had been covered under Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program. Now, the state says patients who only take these GLP-1 drugs for weight loss, are no longer covered. The governor's office has said limiting Medi-Cal coverage for GLP-1s could save the state nearly $800 million by 2029. The state is moving forward with this plan, even though the Trump administration has announced an agreement that is supposed to reduce the cost of these drugs for government insurance programs in the coming years."
"Some providers are concerned about the effect this shift will have on patients taking the drugs for obesity, who will no longer have this coverage. Dr. Wayne Ho is a Los Angeles obesity specialist. He said patients could be at risk of regaining the weight. He said there's also the physical and mental health issues that can come with that, which range from high blood pressure to depression. Now, he's trying to adapt his approach. "I think that's important not to forget. It's not GLP or bust," he said."
TSA requires payments to be made online at pay.gov and will not accept direct payments to TSA staff at airports. California will stop covering GLP-1 drugs for patients who take them solely for weight loss under Medi-Cal, while continuing coverage for patients with Type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease. The governor's office projects nearly $800 million in savings by 2029 and is proceeding despite a federal agreement to lower drug costs for government programs. Providers express concern about weight regain and related physical and mental health harms. Alternatives include lifestyle changes, other medications, and bariatric surgery, which Medi-Cal covers. Siskiyou County reached a partial settlement in a 2021 class-action lawsuit and the sheriff's office agreed to a traffic stop policy banning race-targeted or pretext stops.
Read at Kqed
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]