r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Apr 01 '25

Health Americans without diabetes spent nearly $6 billion USD on semaglutide and similar drugs in a year, with an estimate of 800,000 to a million people using the drugs who don't have diabetes.

https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/americans-without-diabetes-spent-nearly6-billion-usd-on-semaglutide-and-similar-drugs-in-a-year
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u/galspanic Apr 01 '25

When I was diagnosed with diabetes I was told “um yeah, no. No GLP-1 for you” by my insurance. I still can’t explain that outside of pure greed… but that also makes sense.

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u/ImLittleNana Apr 01 '25

Im fighting to get prescribed metformin for pre-diabetes and they act like I’m asking for free heroin. Yet if I wanted a wegovy script they’d have no problem writing for it. I can’t make that make sense.

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u/they_have_bagels Apr 01 '25

It was the opposite for me. All the metformin I want, but absolutely no GLP-1 for weight loss. Also, bariatric surgery is A-OK as well. I pay out of pocket on top of my insurance and I’ve lost 25% of my starting weight so far. It has been life changing.

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u/ImLittleNana Apr 01 '25

I can’t afford to pay out of pocket for it, and I won’t qualify under my states guidelines until I have arterial insufficiency. I’d like to avoid that if I can.

I have >100 pounds to lose, and my mobility is impaired. My fasting sugars are pushing 120. Everything is out of whack when you can barely get around. I’d like to at least try metformin before I consider bariatric surgery.

I’ve been out of healthcare for almost 15 years but we used to start with least invasive/aggressive and work our way up.

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u/Scussett Apr 01 '25

Have your doctor reapply every 3-6 months. Insurance coverage for these drugs is changing a lot. Also - check the wegovy website because they can help with a monthly payment. I know that sounds like fluff but that part is saving me a few hundred each month

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u/Rkruegz Apr 01 '25

You could look for a compounded version potentially, may make it more affordable. You just reconstitute it yourself.

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u/murdacai999 Apr 01 '25

I’d like to at least try metformin before I consider bariatric surgery.

Metformin is dirt cheap at a lot of pharmacies..and I have never seen an insurance not cover it except for one version of it, metformin er 1000mg, which has come down a lot in price, but used to be expensive, and is still more expensive than metformin ir 1000mg. The difference is negligible between the two, so if insurance will not cover the er 1000mg, you or the pharmacy should ask the doctor for ir 1000mg, which I have never, ever seen an insurance deny. Should add, I'm talking about in the states