A study by Yale economics professor Jason Abaluck, published in JAMA Network Open found that while weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy significantly improve health, they're also linked to a sustained increase in spending on other medical care,” reported Bloomberg (11 August 2025)
Although Wegovy and Ozempic effectively reduces weight, blood pressure and cholesterol, this doesn't automatically lead to lower overall healthcare costs in the short-to-medium term.
“After analysing the medical records of over 23,000 adults, researchers found that even when excluding the high price of the drugs themselves (which can be over $1,000 a month), other healthcare costs still increased.
“While the ‘overwhelming evidence’ indicates that the drugs improve health, their potential impact on budgets remains a serious concern that is not yet fully understood.”