Massachusetts Drops Weight Loss Drug Coverage for Public Workers

The Massachusetts Group Insurance Commission (GIC) voted to eliminate coverage for GLP-1 drugs used for obesity. This commission cited budget pressures and a need to curb soaring health care costs. Coverage for GLP-1 use in other conditions, such as diabetes, will remain in place.

“This is a very challenging budget year for our state, and our responsibility as commissioners is to focus both on the taxpayers and our fiduciary responsibility to budget, along with our members and our constituents,” said Valerie Sullivan, chair of the GIC board, in a statement shared with State House News Service on Thursday, Feb. 26.

The decision passed with 10 votes in favor and seven against.

According to the State House News Service report, approximately 22,000 GIC members use GLP-1 medication for weight loss, with annual costs of approximately $46 million, noted Margaret Anshutz, the agency's director of health policy and analytics.

In a letter on Monday, Feb. 23, Gov. Maura Healey asked the GIC board to no longer consider benefit plan changes that could place more costs on state workers. Healey urged commissioners to “seriously consider” the recommendation to scrap coverage for GLP-1 drugs for weight loss.

“While we make this near-term change, the health care affordability working group will focus on what I know the commission really wants to address: the underlying drivers of growing health care costs,” Sullivan said.

Board Vice Chair Bobbi Kaplan commented in the State House News Service report, “This is a short-term fix, if you will, that is going to increase costs exponentially over the next few years when we see the actual impact that removing these GLP-1 medications for weight loss shows us,” she said.