UK health insurance company to supply members to deduct anti -obesity medications Private health care
Vitality has become the first health insurance company in the UK providing customers to lose weight for up to a year through its health cover.
The third largest health insurance company in the UK said behind BUPA and AXA, with 1.9 million members, that it will provide discounts of up to 20 % for medicines such as Wegovy and Mountjaro- which are popular but the price-on the basis of the BMI (BMI) and health conditions Weight related.
Members can submit the application by completing their health file through the VITALITY application. If members have a body mass index from 35 or more, they can apply for the new drug path, which includes training with feeding and anti -obese drugs for up to 12 months based on their health risks.
The market flourishes amid a new wave of obese drugs, called GLP-1S after the intestine that mimics the an appetite. It is injected by users once a week, it is effective in helping people lose weight and also showed other health benefits in studies, such as reducing the risk of heart disease and kidney disease.
However, it comes with a high price sign. Wegovy, which Novo Nordisk made from Denmark, begins at 139 pounds for a month in the United Kingdom at the prices of pharmacy online, reaching 269 pounds sterling for higher doses. It was found that wegovy, approved for use by NHS in 2023, has achieved up to 15 % in body weight after one year.
Last year, Mountrao, which was made by the American pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, became the second obesity treatment for use on NHS in the UK. It costs 139 pounds a monthly £ in pharmacies online, and weight loss showed about 20 % in clinical trials. With a maximum dose, the annual cost is about 1435 pounds.
The use of anti -population drugs to build on the current VITALITY weight loss program, which uses bonus incentives to encourage customers to adopt a healthier lifestyle through a better diet and more targets about 5 % weight loss. This can lead to a decrease in excess insurance, as well as other rewards.
Obesity alone costs NHS about 6.5 billion pounds annually and can lead to multiple health problems such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and non -alcoholic liver diseases.
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In the United States, Less than five large companies include coverage of weight loss In health insurance plans, according to a health affairs survey in October.
“While some risk factors decrease in the workplace, such as smoking and alcohol … those that come out as they are increasing in an increasing time the number of people Those who live with obesity as well as mental health and msk [musculoskeletal] problems.”