Michele Herbert’s Post

This short piece has a good, quantitative overview of the current state of health plan coverage of the new weight loss drugs. A few facts: obesity is a predictor of other, costly medical conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, as this piece from the Mayo Clinic makes clear (https://lnkd.in/gdVMdqZx). For numerous reasons, including genetics and the body's adaptations to changes in caloric intake, non-medicinal weight loss efforts are notoriously unsuccessful, particularly over the longer-term. Therefore, the evidence is accumulating that treating obesity PREVENTS the occurrence of other diseases which both cost a lot of money to treat and substantially increase mortality risk while decreasing people's quality of life. Nonetheless, as these data make clear, although many health plans will cover weight-loss drugs once someone has diabetes or heart disease (although even here the coverage is much less than 100%), many fewer plans cover obesity treatment as a preventive measure. Once again, third party health plan administrators have signaled their complete disdain for people's welfare and lifespan. #healthbenefits #health #morbidity #weightloss #diabetes #healthinsurers

As GLP-1 medications continue to demonstrate their value in managing chronic conditions like diabetes and obesity, employers face the challenge of balancing healthcare costs with outcomes. These groundbreaking treatments come with a hefty price tag, making it crucial for benefits leaders to explore strategies that align cost containment with employee well-being.

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Why are more health plans taking diabetes management so seriously? @Sadhna Paralkar, MD shares that people with diabetes often have other conditions such as cardiovascular disease and obesity. She recommends increasing health education, coaching and affordabllity, especially for people that live in areas deprived of health care. #DiabetesManagement #HealthPlans #BenefitStrategy https://lnkd.in/epCcN-XA

Why are more health plans taking diabetes management so seriously? @Sadhna Paralkar, MD shares that people with diabetes often have other conditions such as cardiovascular disease and obesity. She recommends increasing health education, coaching and affordability, especially for people that live in areas deprived of health care. #DiabetesManagement #HealthPlans #BenefitStrategy https://lnkd.in/em5Rqz9V

Why are more health plans taking diabetes management so seriously? @Sadhna Paralkar, MD shares that people with diabetes often have other conditions such as cardiovascular disease and obesity. She recommends increasing health education, coaching and affordability, especially for people that live in areas deprived of health care. #DiabetesManagement #HealthPlans #BenefitStrategy 

What are barriers to use of #weightloss medication, and how can we overcome them? Find out what I talked about at the recent American Diabetes Association meeting.

Why are more health plans taking diabetes management so seriously? Sadhna Paralkar, MD shares that people with diabetes often have other conditions such as cardiovascular disease and obesity. She recommends increasing health education, coaching and affordability, especially for people that live in areas deprived of health care. #DiabetesManagement #HealthPlans #BenefitStrategy 

Why are more health plans taking diabetes management so seriously? Sadhna Paralkar, MD shares that people with diabetes often have other conditions such as cardiovascular disease and obesity. She recommends increasing health education, coaching and affordability, especially for people that live in areas deprived of health care. #DiabetesManagement #HealthPlans #BenefitStrategy

Top thing on my mind this morning: In a conversation with one of our carrier partners, the conversation of GLP-1s came up. Specifically how starting in 2025, they will be a covered medication for ACA plans. That means small groups now have coverage for weight loss drugs that are used for prevention of diabetes and treatment of insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, or morbid obesity. This is only for small groups (those with under 50 employees). Carriers are not calling this a test case but from my seat, it will be very interesting to see how the approval of these medications goes for those small groups in this state. It should, at least, shed some light on how larger groups should be approaching the benefit & cost of this medication. https://lnkd.in/gvXz8Uk5 https://lnkd.in/guPgBMbw