Most people want basic insurance to cover slimming drugs: survey

Some 90% of people in the Netherlands say Ozempic or similar types of weight loss drugs should be included in the basic insurance package, an Ipsos survey on behalf of the health ministry has shown.

A large majority would still welcome the move even if it meant premiums would go up by a couple of euros a month.

The Dutch health institute, which had earlier advised against including slimming drug Wegovy in the package because of the cost, had asked the health ministry to gauge public opinion on the ways of tackling obesity.

Some seven million people in the Netherlands are currently overweight, of whom 14% are obese.

If the drug were to be widely used, costs could spiral to an estimated €60 million, the institute said earlier.

Some three-quarters of poll respondents said conditions should be attached to free prescriptions. These would include prescribing only by a specialist and proof that people who request the medicine have shown commitment to lifestyle changes.

“Everyone has the right to lose weight,” one respondent said. Not everyone, however, agreed, with another saying he “didn't have to pay for a solution for a problem I didn't cause”.

Weight-loss drugs in the Netherlands are currently only covered by insurance for individuals with a body mass index of at least 35 and type II diabetes.

Nevertheless, in January, Nieuwsuur said the use of weight loss drugs is growing in the Netherlands because more people are opting to pay for prescriptions themselves.

In 2023, the Dutch paid for 109,000 prescriptions of the drugs, compared with just 2000 in 2022, according to figures from the drugs monitoring body SFK. The 2024 figures are not yet complete, but the SFK said in November that total prescriptions has risen a further 40%.