Crackdown on Ozempic, Wegovy Hits Thousands In Colorado

Colorado is planning to cut insurance coverage of prescription weight-loss drugs for its nearly 40,000 state employees in an attempt to save millions of dollars at a time when the state faces a significant budget shortfall.

Newsweek contacted the Colorado Department of Personnel & Administration and the state employees union Colorado WINS for comment by email on Thursday morning.

Why It Matters

The use of injectable weight-loss medications like Wegovy and Ozempic, both produced by Danish manufacturer Novo Nordisk, has grown massively in recent years, since the two drugs were approved for diabetes treatment. According to a May 2024 poll by independent health news website KFF, 12 percent of U.S. adults had tried weight-loss drugs, including 6 percent who were currently using them.

Such medications have proven greatly effective in controlling patients’ blood sugar levels and helping them lose weight, and evidence has emerged of further positive effects linked to the drugs’ use. The use of drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic could make Americans healthier and save millions of dollars in medical treatments, according to experts.

What to Know

Colorado state employees have had Glucagon-like peptide-1 medications, better known as GLP-1, covered by their health insurance plan since September 2022. These drugs, which include Wegovy and Ozempic, help improve patients’ blood sugar control if they have Type 2 diabetes and can facilitate weight loss.

Under the change now planned by Colorado authorities, the state would continue covering the expenses for GLP-1s for employees with Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obstructive sleep apnea, but not for those using the drugs to lose weight.

The move could help save nearly $17 million annually, according to officials.

The reduction in coverage will come into effect as of July 1. After this date, Colorado state employees trying to combat obesity or reduce the risk of diabetes will have to pay for the weight-loss medications out of their own pockets—and their price tag isn’t cheap.

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