Roughly one in every eight adults in the United States has employed a GLP-1 medication such as Ozempic or Mounjaro at some stage in their life, with approximately half of them—about 6% of adults, or over 15 million individuals—currently under a prescription, as per fresh survey data from KFF.
Over the past year, the US Food and Drug Administration has noted shortages of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro across various dosages as pharmaceutical companies raced to meet the soaring demand. Novo Nordisk revealed last week that at least 25,000 individuals in the US are commencing its drug Wegovy weekly—five times the number able to start the medication weekly in December.
The latest survey indicates that the majority of adults who have utilized these medications have done so for managing chronic conditions like diabetes or heart disease. More than 40% of respondents with diabetes and around a quarter of those with heart disease reported using GLP-1 drugs.
However, the KFF poll discovered that approximately two in five adults used GLP-1 medications exclusively for weight loss.
Neither Ozempic nor Mounjaro is specifically approved for weight loss; the FDA sanctioned them for treating type 2 diabetes in 2017 and 2022, respectively. Yet, physicians frequently prescribe them off-label for weight loss. While Wegovy, endorsed in 2021 for obesity, contains the same active ingredient as Ozempic—semaglutide—Mounjaro employs a slightly different one, tirzepatide.
Overall, adults aged 50 to 64 were the most inclined to have utilized GLP-1 drugs, but younger adults were more prone to using them solely for weight loss, according to the KFF survey.
Medicare prohibits coverage for prescription weight-loss drugs, with only 1% of seniors stating they used a GLP-1 drug exclusively for weight loss, per the KFF survey. Nonetheless, over 60% of adults advocate for changes in Medicare policy to encompass coverage for these drugs when prescribed for weight loss.
Despite insurance coverage, a majority of adults who have utilized GLP-1 drugs expressed difficulty affording them, according to the KFF poll.
A month’s supply of GLP-1 medications can amount to about $1,000, and just last month, Sen. Bernie Sanders initiated an inquiry into the "outrageously high prices" set by manufacturers.
Faced with exorbitant costs and constrained supply, some adults may explore alternatives to these highly sought-after medications. The FDA cautioned against compounded versions of semaglutide last year, emphasizing that patients should only obtain drugs containing semaglutide through a prescription from a licensed healthcare provider and from state-licensed pharmacies or FDA-registered outsourcing facilities.
The vast majority of adults who have used GLP-1 drugs—roughly 80%—indicated they acquired the drugs or a prescription from a primary care physician or specialist, as per the KFF survey. However, about 11% obtained them from an online provider or website, and 10% procured them from a medical spa or aesthetic medical center.
The insights from the KFF survey are based on responses collected from a nationally representative sample of nearly 1,500 adults during the final week of April.
