Medicare does not pay for GLP-1 for obesity

See which GLP-1 drugs are currently approved (along with their cost)

Around 75% of prescriptions for GLP-1 drugs are used to treat diabetes, while the remainder is used for weight loss. This overview from GoodRX includes a list and overview of currently available options along with prices for each.

GLP-1 helps reduce obesity through a number of mechanisms

Clinical studies show GLP-1 drugs, including semaglutide, promote weight loss through a number of effects. These include reduced appetite, slower emptying of the digestive tract, increased insulin production, and more.

What do people do once GLP-1 medications succeed at weight loss?

The drugs have been adopted by 1 in 8 Americans, with many achieving their prescribed weight loss. They now face the question of how to keep the weight off, the key issue with any weight loss program that researchers have known about for decades. Each case is unique. Some folks continue to use GLP-1s like Ozempic in minuscule doses, while others taper them off over time.

Debunking myths about weight loss drugs

Business Insider delves into the research on GLP-1 to highlight the good and bad aspects other stories overlook. Few make it clear that GLP-1 drugs simply don’t work for many people. This deep dive raises a number of questions about the future of GLP-1 and how they will be used.

When people stopped using GLP-1, they regained two-thirds of the weight back

Research from 2022 found that when people stopped using the injectable form of the medication, they regained up to two-thirds of lost weight within a year. The finding suggests ongoing treatment will be required for weight loss.

GLP-1 drugs are under investigation for treating Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and drug addiction

Researchers are investigating GLP-1 applications for a variety of chronic conditions. One area of interest stems from how study participants using GLP-1 for diabetes and obesity reported describing less longing for wine and cigarettes while taking the medication—intriguing researchers about using the drugs for addiction applications. The drug, they theorize, could bind to receptors that mediate desire. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

12% of adults were taking injectable GLP-1 for weight loss according to 2025 survey

Weight loss injectable use rose sharply between 2024 and fall 2025. The percentage of adults who reported taking this class of medicine specifically for weight loss increased to 12.4%, compared with 5.8% in February 2024 when Gallup first measured it.

Telehealth demand for GLP-1s for weight loss is booming as consumers seek easier access.

Risks of GLP-1s include health side effects, counterfeit drugs, and more

This episode interviews researchers and patients who have used semaglutide to explore some of the potential risks associated with using the drug to lose weight. These include insurance challenges, health scares related to counterfeit versions of these drugs, and some users lose their ability to enjoy food.

Not everyone who is a candidate for GLP-1 is choosing to use the drug

One person writes about why, although she's a good fit for the medication on paper, she's decided not to take GLP-1 due to concerns about mental health and other side effects, among other reasons.

The lack of guidance on getting off GLP-1s leaves patients at risk

Dr. David Kessler, former FDA Commissioner and public health leader, explores how these drugs override the brain’s reward-driven eating habits but have notable side effects. These include developing eating disorders, muscle loss, and intestinal obstruction.

Food companies are exploring 'GLP-1 friendly' diet labels

Producers of foods like Healthy Choice frozen meals are placing "GLP-1 friendly" labels on their food, but there's no regulation about what that label means. Nutritionists say that GLP-1s can help reduce appetite, but healthy, balanced diets are a necessary complement to the medications. Data shows that about half of GLP-1 users quit these medications within a year and then rapidly regain weight, underscoring the importance of also prioritizing healthy eating.

Can you microdose GLP-1 agonists like Ozempic?

GLP-1 agonists like Ozempic can help with weight loss, diabetes, and anti-inflammation. For some users, normal doses are too much. So, they've started "microdosing"—taking a smaller amount than the lowest increment of the drug available. While not yet backed by clinical trials, some doctors observed positive effects for certain people.

Diabetes drug GLP-1 is a peptide (that's what the 'P' is for)

Glucagon-like peptide-1, or GLP-1, is one of the most well-known peptides in common use. In 2024, 26.5% of all adults with diagnosed diabetes used the substance. GLP-1 was particularly popular among people with diabetes aged 50-64, followed by younger adults and then seniors aged 65+.

Read the FDA's statement on concerns over compound pharmacies

GLP-1 drugs popularity for weight loss and treating diabetes, led to a significant supply shortage and the rise of compound pharmacies, which produce customized drug formulations but lack formal approval from regulators. The drugs are ostensibly the same, but manufacturing methods lead to variations in concentration, filler compounds, and more.

Telehealth demand for GLP-1s is booming as consumers seek easier access

Telehealth companies are rapidly expanding access to GLP-1s, but some doctors and researchers worry that these services are inadequately screening patients, skipping follow-up care, and prescribing cheaper compounded versions with little regulatory oversight—setting the stage for troubling medication errors and serious adverse events.

Medicare doesn’t provide coverage for outpatient prescription drugs

However, it's possible to buy a separate Part D prescription drug policy that covers prescription drugs, or a Medicare Advantage plan that covers both medical and drug costs. This article details a list of eight things that Medicare does and does not cover.

The potential for weight loss drugs to transform the economy

In 2023, Americans spent more than $50B on weight loss drugs, a number expected to triple by the end of the decade. However, because of the wide range of obesity-linked health issues, widespread adoption of the treatments could transform the wider economy.

Insurance denials prevent lifesaving care for patients with eating disorders

A patient living with anorexia nervosa was told by her insurance company that she wasn't sick enough to receive needed care. Her experience highlights how some insurers across Washington state focus on less useful metrics like body mass index and weight to gauge sickness instead of psychiatric symptoms that may better illustrate the urgency of receiving care.

The Government Accountability Office in 2005 concluded concierge medicine didn't threaten Medicare

This congressionally mandated analysis concluded that the number of concierge physicians nationwide was too small for concierge practices to undermine Medicare patients' access to affordable health care and it was "unlikely that the approach has contributed to widespread access problems." Medicare is the federal health insurance program for the aged and some disabled individuals.

Gestational diabetes occurs when the body can't produce insulin during pregnancy

Globally, pregnant people are increasingly at risk to develop gestational diabetes due to rising maternal ages and obesity rates. The condition is associated with heavier fetal weight, congenital abnormalities, and perinatal mortality, which includes stillbirths and deaths of babies younger than 7 days old.

Selecting an embryo based on polygenic score is illegal in the UK, Israel, and swaths of Europe

Though their use for embryo selection is illegal in many locations, private clinics in the US may offer polygenic scores to inform embryo selection. The US Food and Drug Administration has not banned their use—instead the tests are regulated like supplements, meaning they are not regulated before they come to market but consumers can file complaints and then the agency may take action.

Hospitals are required to care for emergency patients, even if they can't pay

A federal law called the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which was passed in 1986, requires any Medicare-participating hospital with an emergency room to provide emergency medical care—including if the patient is in labor—until the patient is stable. That requirement applies regardless of the patient's ability to pay, insurance status, or, in some cases, immigration status.

Visualizing obesity rates across the US

Nearly 70% of adults in the US are either overweight or obese, rates that have tripled over the last 60 years. Severe cases have risen tenfold during this period. Factors like location, income level, and demographics contribute to various obesity levels across the US. Visualize the statistics with this article and chart series.

Nonwhite Lyme patients tend to be diagnosed later and have more severe disease

Peer-reviewed research published in 2025 from Pfizer—a pharmaceutical company working on a candidate vaccine for Lyme disease—examined Lyme data from more than 150,000 Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries and found that Black patients, as compared to white beneficiaries, were more likely to have disease that had spread further throughout the body at the time of care. The difference, the scientists wrote, may be partly due to difficulties recognizing the characteristic rash on darker-colored skin.

Certain government assistance programs are available to green-card holders

Federal programs such as Medicaid and SNAP are often available to US green-card holders, but that's not typically the case for people with other immigration statuses in the US, like DACA recipients, asylum applicants, and unauthorized immigrants.

The hormonal disorder PCOS was renamed PMOS in 2026, a move designed to improve care and research by shifting the focus to the hormonal causes of this condition that affects 1 in 8 women.

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The USPS spent $3.97B in 2024, accounting for .058% of the federal budget.

See this overview of the firework rules across all 50 states, ranging from a complete ban on non-professional fireworks in Massachusetts to states with more lax rules like Indiana.

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Hookworm infection, though risky, may help fight certain autoimmune conditions by tamping down the immune system's inflammatory response.

Despite being favored by 87% of Americans, Congress does not have term limits.

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American dance legend Martha Graham, sometimes called 'the Picasso of dance,' refused to perform at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and conceived the piece 'Chronicle' in response to the experience.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

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Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year

In 2025, four executives from large tech companies were given positions in the US Army Reserves—including Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, which reinforced Palantir's ties with the US military and its role as a leading defense partner.

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The Beatles' US label rejected the band's first two singles, 'Please Please Me' and 'From Me to You,' with one executive calling the band 'dead in the water.'

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

Explore the known asteroids, comets, and spacecraft involved in asteroid studies within our solar system with 'Eyes on Asteroids,' a 3D visualization from NASA.

Massive 3D printers have been used to build homes by stacking layers of 'concrete toothpaste,' a fire-resistant material that effectively insulates against outside noise.

See photos of Meteora, a mountainous site in central Greece, home to 14th-century monasteries perched atop soaring outcroppings.