3.6 million Medicare enrollees may now be eligible for Wegovy coverage [Video]

About 3.6 million Medicare enrollees may qualify for coverage of the anti-obesity drug Wegovy, according to a KFF analysis released Wednesday. But it could wind up costing Medicare nearly $3 billion a year and contribute to higher Part D premiums for all beneficiaries.Medicare announced last month that Part D drug plans could start covering Wegovy for beneficiaries who are overweight or obese and have a history of heart disease after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved drugmaker Novo Nordisk’s application to add cardiovascular benefits to the medicine’s label.GLP-1 medications such as Wegovy and its sister drug Ozempic, which is approved to treat diabetes, have exploded in popularity because they can lead to weight loss. Medicare is banned by law from covering anti-obesity drugs, but the FDA’s expanded Wegovy approval for reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke in certain people opens the door to more beneficiaries being covered.An …