France will cover the cost of weight-loss drugs prescribed to obese patients from mid-June in a first for an EU country, Health Minister Stephanie Rist said Thursday.
Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro drugs have led the rise in obesity treatments, attracting governments seeking to address rising obesity rates around the world.
Rist estimated the annual cost to the government to be around €100 million (US$116 million) when fully deployed. Patients in France currently pay about €300 a month on average for the drugs, he said, without indicating how many people currently follow such treatment.
“The target population is approximately one million people. However, this does not mean that everyone will receive treatment, as it depends on each patient and the doctor’s prescription,” Rist said in an interview with the TF1 channel.
The reimbursement through the French social security system, which covers Wegovy and Mounjaro injection treatment, will be available to obese patients with a body mass index of at least 35 and at least one comorbidity, or a BMI of at least 40 regardless of other diseases, he said.
The drugs will be reimbursed at 65 percent, although in practice a large number of eligible patients benefit from 100 percent coverage due to other diseases, he added.
