Elevance Sued Over Zepbound Coverage Denials for Sleep Apnea

Elevance Health Inc. was hit with a proposed class action by a woman who says the insurer wrongly refuses to cover the weight-loss drug Zepbound for patients who need it to treat obstructive sleep apnea.

Elevance—formerly known as Anthem Inc.—excludes coverage for Eli Lilly & Co.'s Zepbound even though it’s the only treatment for obstructive sleep apnea that’s been approved by the US Food & Drug Administration, according to the complaint. Elevance allegedly does this by improperly deeming the drug a weight-loss treatment even when it’s prescribed to treat sleep apnea.

This violates the terms of Elevance’s health plan, ...