Weight reduction syringes of the brands “Wegovy”, “Ozempic” and “Mounjaro” are sold at In der Achat Apotheke in Mitte, Germany.
Picture Alliance | Picture Alliance | Getty Images
A version of this text first appeared in CNBC’s Healthy Returns newsletter, which brings the newest health-care news straight to your inbox. Subscribe here to receive future editions.
Good afternoon! A big swath of insured Americans may very well be eligible for a highly popular class of weight reduction and diabetes medications called GLP-1s, akin to Novo Nordisk‘s Wegovy and Ozempic.Â
Not less than two in five U.S. adults — or greater than 57 million people – under the age of 65 with private insurance may very well be eligible for GLP-1s in accordance with clinical criteria, a recent evaluation from health policy research organization KFF found. That features over 36 million individuals with an obesity diagnosis alone.
GLP-1s are approved to treat adults with Type 2 diabetes or obesity, or who’re obese with no less than one weight-related health condition, akin to heart problems, hypertension or high cholesterol. Novo Nordisk’s weight reduction injection Wegovy can be the one GLP-1 approved for slashing the chance of heart attack, stroke and death in obese or obese adults with heart problems.Â
But here’s the catch: The variety of adults eligible for those drugs may vary depending on additional requirements that their employer-sponsored health plans set. KFF said employers weigh the high cost of covering GLP-1s, which have list prices of roughly $1,000 per thirty days, against their clinical advantages and demand from their staff.Â
Employers could impose additional eligibility conditions for coverage, akin to higher BMI requirements, KFF said. For instance, if employers adopted a BMI threshold of 35 or greater, only 14.6 million adults under 65 covered by those health plans can be eligible. The present BMI cutoff for GLP-1s is 30 or greater (for patients with obesity) and 27 or more (for many who are obese,) in accordance with approval labels for GLP-1 drugs for obesity.Â
Some plans can also only cover GLP-1s for diabetes management, not obesity.Â
KFF also noted that there are only a “relatively modest number of individuals” enrolled in employer-sponsored health plans with a claim for a GLP-1 as of two years ago. Only 3% of adults with employer coverage had a prescription for one among the drugs in 2022, KFF said. Semaglutide, the lively ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic, is probably the most common GLP-1 drug because it joined the U.S. market in 2018.Â
Still, KFF noted that “some evidence indicates that” GLP-1 use “has only continued to rise during the last two years,” beyond probably the most recent insurance claims data available. Around 6% of all adults, no matter their insurance coverage, report that they’re currently taking a GLP-1 drug, in accordance with a KFF poll released in May. Roughly 12% report that they’ve taken one among those treatments in some unspecified time in the future.Â
More people can also be eligible for GLP-1s as they get approved for brand spanking new uses. Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are each studying their respective drugs as potential treatments for fatty liver disease and chronic kidney disease, amongst others. The businesses could see approvals for a few of those conditions inside the following yr or so.Â
Be happy to send any suggestions, suggestions, story ideas and data to Annika at annikakim.constantino@nbcuni.com.
Latest in health-care tech: Apple publicizes recent health features for sleep apnea, hearing assistance
Good afternoon!Â
Apple on Monday held an event at its headquarters in Cupertino, California where it announced a bunch of latest products and updates. The corporate unveiled its iPhone 16 lineup, the Apple Watch Series 10 and recent AirPods, but I assumed its recent health-care features stole the show. Â
“We’re incredibly proud to introduce a first-of-its-kind Hearing Aid feature, coming this fall with AirPods Pro 2, plus an modern solution to detect signs of sleep apnea with Apple Watch,” Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote in a post on X on Monday. “These life-changing tools will help people connect more deeply & live healthier.”
Here’s all the things you’ll want to know:
Apple Watch Series 10
Apple said its latest watch can assist alert users to sleep apnea, a sleep problem that could cause an individual’s respiratory to repeatedly start and stop throughout the night.Â
Sleep apnea affects greater than 1 billion people worldwide, but Apple said 80% of individuals with the condition are undiagnosed. If individuals with sleep apnea don’t get treated, they might face a better risk of heart problems, hypertension and Type 2 diabetes.Â
To detect this condition, the Series 10 uses an accelerometer to measure respiratory disturbances that occur overnight. Users can view their nightly metrics within the Health app. Apple will analyze this respiratory disturbance data once a month and notify people in the event that they show “consistent signs” of severe or moderate sleep apnea.
The corporate will even generate a “detailed report” that users can bring to their doctors.Â
Apple said the detection algorithm for this feature was developed with “an in depth dataset of clinical-grade sleep apnea tests,” and was validated in a clinical study. The corporate expects the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other regulators will clear the technology “very soon.”
The Series 10 launches Sept. 20, but it surely’s already available for preorder. It starts at $399. Sleep apnea notifications will even be available on the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2.Â
AirPods Pro 2
Apple also introduced recent AirPods Pro 2 features that can assist users assess and protect their hearing.Â
The corporate said hearing loss could be hard to detect because it often happens progressively, so it created a five-minute-long hearing test that users can perform at home. To take the test, users will simply must placed on the AirPods Pro 2 and tap their screen after they hear sounds at various frequencies and volumes. Â
Apple said the test is clinically validated and designed based on real-world data. The outcomes shall be stored within the Health app, where users will see their personalized hearing profile. People can take the test often and access educational materials about hearing loss, the corporate added.
Once users take the hearing test, individuals with mild to moderate hearing loss can use their AirPods Pro 2 as a clinical-grade, over-the-counter hearing aid. Apple uses the outcomes of the test to find out the sounds that an individual must have amplified in real time, whether it’s elements inside their environment or different parts of speech.Â
“This may assist you to hear your surroundings higher, to assist keep you protected and connect you with people nearby so it’s even easier to listen to and interact in conversations,” Dr. Sumbul Desai, vp of health at Apple, said through the event.
Moreover, Desai said users’ hearing profiles are routinely applied to phone calls, music and flicks across their Apple devices.Â
Apple said it also expects the FDA and other regulators to approve the hearing tools soon. The hearing test and hearing aid features shall be made available in a free software update this fall. AirPods Pro 2 can be found for $249. Â
Apple said additionally it is adding a “Hearing Protection” feature to AirPods Pro 2 that may minimize users’ exposure to potentially damaging environmental noise.Â
The ear tips about the headphones help passively reduce noise, and Apple said machine learning on the H2 chip that powers the headphones “reduces louder, more intermittent noise at 48,000 times per second.” The hearing protection feature is on by default.
It’s value reiterating that Apple remains to be waiting on regulatory approval, but I believe these features firm up the corporate’s position as an modern player within the health-care space. We’ve more health data at our fingertips than ever before, and Apple appears keenly aware of that.Â
The lingering query is whether or not these health features shall be enticing enough to encourage consumers to buy recent watches and headphones.
You possibly can read more about Apple’s latest announcements here.
Be happy to send any suggestions, suggestions, story ideas and data to Ashley at ashley.capoot@nbcuni.com.
