About one in eight adults (12%) say they’ve taken one in all an more and more well-liked class of prescribed drugs often called GLP-1s which can be used for weight reduction and to deal with diabetes and scale back the chance of coronary heart illness and stroke, a brand new KFF Well being Monitoring Ballot finds. This contains 6% of adults who say they’re at the moment taking one in all these medication, which embody Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro
The shares of adults who report ever taking these medication is highest amongst individuals with diabetes (43%), adopted by these with coronary heart illness (26%) and those that have weight problems or chubby (22%), the ballot finds.
Amongst those that report ever taking the medication, most (61%) say that they took the medication to deal with a power situation equivalent to diabetes or coronary heart illness – both alone (39%) or together with losing a few pounds (23%). Practically 4 in ten (38%) say that they took the medication solely to drop some weight.
Listing costs for GLP-1 medication can high $1,000 for a month’s provide previous to insurance coverage protection, rebates, and low cost coupons. About half (54%) of those that report ever taking the medication say it was troublesome to afford them, together with one in 5 (22%) who say it was “very troublesome.”
Having insurance coverage protection makes little distinction to sufferers’ perceptions of the medication’ affordability, with related shares of these coated by insurance coverage saying the medication had been troublesome (53%) or very troublesome (23%) to afford.
A lot of the Public Favors Medicare Protection of Weight-Loss Medicine Even After Listening to Competing Arguments
Whereas 9% of older adults ages 65 and older report ever taking the medication, few (1%) say they did so solely for weight reduction – seemingly reflecting Medicare’s prohibition on the protection of prescription weight-loss medication. Medicare covers among the medication for diabetes and different circumstances.
About six in ten adults (61%) say that Medicare ought to cowl these medication when prescribed for weight reduction for people who find themselves chubby. This contains related shares throughout age teams, and greater than half of Democrats, independents, and Republicans.
The ballot additionally examined the impression of arguments for and towards Medicare protection, with quick descriptions explaining that it might enhance premiums for individuals with Medicare and place monetary strain on the Medicare program and the federal price range, however that it might assist extra individuals afford the medicines and enhance the well being and high quality of lifetime of people who find themselves chubby.
These arguments did little to vary the general public’s views, with related shares of the general public total and the varied subgroups persevering with to favor Medicare protection.
Different findings embody:
• About eight in ten (82%) adults say they’ve heard at the very least “a bit” about these medication, together with about three in ten (32%) who say they’ve heard “so much” about them. Consciousness is up since July 2023, when about one in 5 (19%) stated they heard so much in regards to the medication.
• About eight in ten (79%) adults who’ve taken GLP-1 medication report getting these medication or a prescription for them from their main care physician or a specialist. Fewer report getting them from a web-based supplier or web site (11%), a medical spa or aesthetic medical heart (10%), or someplace else (2%).
Designed and analyzed by public opinion researchers at KFF. The survey was carried out April 23-Could 1, 2024, on-line and by phone amongst a nationally consultant pattern of 1,479 U.S. adults in English and in Spanish. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3 share factors for the total pattern. For outcomes primarily based on different subgroups, the margin of sampling error could also be larger.