Broken healthcare system prevents access to weight-loss drugs.

High costs and insurance hurdles are keeping revolutionary weight-loss drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic from getting to many of the people who need them. Drugmakers charge from about $900 to $1,300 or more a month for all the available drugs, which must be taken long term or patients will regain most of the weight they lost. Private insurers tend to follow Medicare's lead when it comes to drug coverage, so it's critical that the government-run program pay for it soon. But as it stands, traditional Medicare is strictly prohibited from paying for weight-loss drugs under a 2003 law that put them in the same category as drugs used for cosmetic purposes, like hair loss.