Medicare’s decision to cover semaglutide, the first weight-loss drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reduce heart risks, may have a negative impact on the overall health of the population, according to a new study published in Annals of Internal Medicine.(1)

Semaglutide is a GLP-1 receptor agonist originally developed to treat diabetes. Novo Nordisk sells and markets its weekly subcutaneous 2.4 mg semaglutide treatments under the brand name Wegovy, and interest in the drug skyrocketed following the FDA’s decision.

Back in March, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that Medicare would cover the cost of Wegovy if prescribed to patients with elevated body mass index (BMI) and documented cardiovascular disease (CVD). The team behind this new analysis wanted to use data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to assess how the CMS decision could impact healthcare costs in the coming years.

Overall, they estimated that about 3.6 million people would be newly eligible for the Wegovy prescription – and that number could rise to 15.2 million if a more liberal definition of cardiovascular disease were adopted. This would increase annual Medicare spending by $34 billion and $145 billion, respectively, the group wrote.