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Older Americans quit weight loss drugs in droves

14 points by paulpauper

by MarkusQ

0 subcomment

> Medicare covered it for treating Type 2 diabetes but not for weight loss
> [...] to Bucklew’s surprise, her Medicare Advantage plan covered it even
> though she wasn’t diabetic, charging just a $25 monthly copay.
> [...] Then her Medicare plan notified her that it would no longer cover
> the drug [...] With coverage denied, Bucklew became part of an unsettlingly
> large group: older adults who begin taking GLP-1s and related drugs [...] and
> then stop taking them within months.
This feels like it's really straining the facts to jam them into a narrative, then mostly fails to construct one. Is it an article about drug side effects? Insurance fraud? Health benefits of GLP-1s? Medicare policy?
Strangely, it feels like something that would actually have been more coherent if it had been written by an LLM.

by Centigonal

1 subcomments

This article showcases multiple causes for why seniors are coming off of these drugs: drug shortages, changing insurance coverage, muscle loss, and other side effects are all included. Let's not be too hasty when attributing cause to this trend.

by AndrewKemendo

3 subcomments

I thought it would take a decade for the side effects to catch up with people but this is way faster than expected.
There are no shortcuts to holistic health.
In a sick and corrupt environment the worn path is harmful by default.