'Miracle' weight-loss drugs could have reduced health disparities. Instead they got worse

LOS ANGELES -- The American Heart Association calls them "game changers."

Oprah Winfrey says they're "a gift."

Science magazine anointed them the "2023 Breakthrough of the Year."

Americans are most familiar with their brand names: Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, Zepbound. They are the medications that have revolutionized weight loss and raised the possibility of reversing the country's obesity crisis.

Obesity — like so many diseases — disproportionately affects people in racial and ethnic groups that have been marginalized by the U.S. health care system. A class of drugs that succeeds where so many others have failed would seem to be a powerful tool for closing the gap.

Instead, doctors who treat obesity, and the serious health risks that come with it, fear the medications are making this health disparity worse.

"These patients have a higher burden of disease, and they're less likely to get the medicine that can save their lives," said Dr. Lauren Eberly, a cardiologist and health services researcher at the University of Pennsylvania. "I feel like if a group of patients has a disproportionate burden, they should have increased access to these medicines."

Why don't they? Experts say there are a multitude of reasons, but the primary one is cost.

Ozempic, which is approved by the Food and Drug Administration to help people with Type 2 diabetes control their blood sugar and reduce their risk of serious cardiovascular problems like heart attacks and strokes, has a list price of $968.52 for a 28-day supply. Wegovy, a higher dose of the same medicine that's FDA-approved for weight loss in people with obesity or who are overweight and have a weight-related condition like high blood pressure or high cholesterol, goes for $1,349.02 every four weeks.

Mounjaro is a similar drug approved by the FDA to improve blood sugar levels in Type 2 diabetes patients, and it comes with a list price of $1,069.08 for 28 days of medicine. Zepbound, a version of the same drug approved for weight loss, has a slightly lower price tag of $1,059.87 per 28 days. For now, at least, all the new drugs are meant to be taken indefinitely.

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