Talking Points: Weight loss drugs come with a warning
MINNEAPOLIS -- Ozempic, Mounjaro, and Wegovy are part of a new wave of medications patients are flocking to with hopes of losing weight. Wegovy has been approved.by the FDA for weight loss, while Ozempic and Mounjaro have not.
It's not hard to get a prescription in the Twin Cities. A Google search will show you more than a dozen options including some brand new clinics.
In Talking Points, two Twin Cities doctors told Esme Murphy these drugs can work, but they do have warnings. Dr. Iesha Galloway-Gilliam, medical director of Hennepin Healthcare's Comprehensive Weight Management Center, says the drugs are not a short-term fix.
Meanwhile, Dr. Michael Miedema, a preventative cardiologist at Allina, works to keep people from having heart attacks in the first place. He says the drugs should not be used for cosmetic use but rather an aid for dangerously overweight patients.
Another warning for many patients is the out-of-pocket costs. Most insurance policies do not cover the drugs, but there are coupons that last for six months. Lori Rock has lost more than 100 pounds while taking Mounjaro, but with a coupon expiring, her costs are increasing from $25 a month to $1,000 a month.
Meanwhile, insurance did cover Wegovy for Laura Collins, who has also had success with the drug, losing more than 100 pounds. She told Murphy the food cravings are gone and she expects to be on Wegovy for the rest of her life.
Talking Points airs every Wednesday and Thursday at 6:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., live on CBS News Minnesota.