COVERAGE FOR EXPENSIVE WEIGHT-LOSS DRUGS is being cut back in California as the state works to reduce a budget deficit pegged at $12 billion.
- The state’s Medicaid program, which serves 15 million people, will stop covering expensive drugs such as Wegovy when prescribed for weight loss, though coverage for diabetes treatment will still be covered, in the budget lawmakers passed earlier this month.
- The move is expected to save the state $85 million in the fiscal year that starts July 1, a savings that is estimated to grow to $680 million annually by mid-2029. As the drugs have grown ...