"Medicare Coverage Expanded for Wegovy to Combat Heart Disease"

The U.S. Medicare program will now cover Novo Nordisk's weight-loss drug Wegovy for heart patients if prescribed to reduce their risk of heart attacks and strokes, following new guidance from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). This decision allows Medicare to negotiate prices for the drug under President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, and also requires state Medicaid programs to cover Wegovy for preventing heart disease in people with obesity. The move comes after the FDA approved Wegovy for lowering the risk of stroke and heart attack in overweight or obese adults without diabetes, signaling a significant shift in coverage for obesity drugs under Medicare.