Bariatric surgery found more cost-effective than GLP-1s
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Weight-loss surgery is more cost-effective than taking blockbuster GLP-1 drugs, delivering two more healthy years of life and saving patients about $9,000 a year, according to a new analysis.
Why it matters: Such side-by-side comparisons could be critical to insurers' coverage decisions as demand for drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy surges.
What they found: Northwestern University researchers found GLP-1s are only cost-effective when used in tandem with weight-loss surgery, to control weight regain.
- Combining surgery and GLP-1s yielded average savings of about $7,200 a year and five more quality-adjusted life years, compared with surgery alone.
- But the one-time surgery has more up-front expense, costing between $17,400 and $22,850. That's compared with the average annual costs of between $9,360 and $16,200 for the drugs, which can be taken over a lifetime.
- The findings were presented at an American College of Surgeons meeting in San Francisco alongside other research that found the rising use of GLP-1s before bariatric surgery did not lead to significantly different outcomes in patients.
What they're saying: "As evidence of health benefits of [GLP-1s] continues to come out, insurance companies will have to decide whether they will cover these medications and in which case scenarios," said Anne Stey, the study's senior investigator.
- "Understanding if and how these different obesity management options are cost effective is critical to ensure as many people have access to these medications as possible."
The bottom line: GLP-1s could yet become the more cost-effective option, the Northwestern researchers said.
- But for that to happen, the costs would have to drop by nearly 75%.
