{"id":389628,"date":"2026-03-17T13:00:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T13:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/389628\/"},"modified":"2026-03-17T13:00:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T13:00:17","slug":"when-generic-versions-of-weight-loss-drugs-arrive-public-plans-should-cover-them-experts-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/389628\/","title":{"rendered":"When generic versions of weight-loss drugs arrive, public plans should cover them, experts say"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Boxes of semaglutide injection pens on a shelf inside a fridge at Durham Care Clinic and Pharmacy in Oshawa, Ont. Obesity experts say one solution to helping those who are prescribed the drug by their doctors but can\u2019t access it financially is to have public health plans step in.EDUARDO LIMA\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

When Bonnie Evoy entered her mid-60s, she unexpectedly and rapidly gained weight. She tried for two years to lose it, working out almost daily, even when sick or injured, and trying all sorts of diets.<\/p>\n

Ms. Evoy, 67, said she felt \u201cuncomfortable and desperate\u201d and eventually asked her doctor about GLP-1 medications. She was prescribed the blockbuster drug Ozempic, but had to pay out of pocket because she didn\u2019t fit the limited criteria for coverage. <\/p>\n

Ms. Evoy, who lives in Ottawa, tried Ozempic for six weeks \u2013 not enough time for her to lose the weight she desired. She said it was too costly to continue.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince I was paying out of pocket, I didn\u2019t renew my prescription,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was just so expensive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cost has been a major barrier for Canadians to access diabetes and obesity medications, leading patients like Ms. Evoy to stop treatment early or preventing others from starting altogether. But obesity experts say this problem could \u2013 and should \u2013 be alleviated with the coming tide of generics.<\/p>\n

What will change in Canada when generic Ozempic hits the market, according to our reporters<\/a><\/p>\n

Provinces and territories cover Ozempic only for people with Type 2 diabetes, although it is used off-label for weight loss. This means Canadians pay out of pocket or rely on private insurers.<\/p>\n

About two-thirds of Canadians are covered<\/a> by private health insurance. However, one-third get left behind, some relying on public plans to cover medications, including seniors and people who receive social assistance. <\/p>\n

Obesity experts say one immediate solution to helping those who are prescribed the drug by their doctors but can\u2019t access it financially is to have public-health plans step in. <\/b>Yoni Freedhoff, medical director of the Bariatric Medical Institute in Ottawa, said that, as GLP-1s become cheaper, it is no longer a question of if provinces and territories should cover them but how.<\/p>\n

Dr. Freedhoff said the positive impact of obesity medications is wide-ranging for individuals, the health system and employers, for example, cutting rates of absenteeism, addressing comorbidities and reducing disability claims and hospitalizations.<\/p>\n

He estimates the annual cost of generic GLP-1s will likely be in the neighbourhood of $1,000 yearly per Canadian, but it could drop even lower after negotiations between manufacturers and public-health plans.<\/p>\n

Public spending on prescriptions rises to $20.1-billion in 2024 as use of Ozempic grows<\/a><\/p>\n

It is \u201cimpossible to imagine\u201d that insurers won\u2019t get on board soon, considering there is a strong economic argument that it will save them money over time, Dr. Freedhoff said. \u201cI do think it\u2019s an inevitability that there will be universal coverage, whether it\u2019s through employers or through the government or both.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rates of obesity have risen in Canada to approximately one in three adults owing to a variety of factors, such as soaring grocery prices, sedentary lifestyles and poor nutrition. And while brand-name drugs, such as Ozempic and Wegovy, have revolutionized obesity and diabetes care, access is still constrained.<\/p>\n

Medical organizations in Canada and abroad have long recognized obesity as a chronic condition, rather than a lifestyle choice. But policy makers have been reluctant to do the same \u2013 increasing barriers to treatment. Alberta is the only province to formally acknowledge obesity as such, yet it does not provide coverage for GLP-1s specifically for weight management.<\/p>\n

Public and private coverage for these medications vary across Canada and are typically restricted to certain criteria, not weight loss alone. Currently, Ozempic is approved through Health Canada for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes and Wegovy, a higher-dose version, for chronic weight management.<\/p>\n

In December, the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance (pCPA), a body that represents provincial, territorial and federal drug plans, and Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk broke off talks to cover Wegovy. The pCPA said the manufacturer had declined to negotiate Wegovy\u2019s price.<\/p>\n

The Canadian researcher whose discovery led to Ozempic is still making breakthroughs<\/a><\/p>\n

Multiple versions of generic semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, are expected by the end of this year.<\/p>\n

Sanjeev Sockalingam, the scientific director of Obesity Canada, said expanding coverage of semaglutide in public-health plans would help a \u201csignificant portion\u201d of the population. But he said provinces will likely grapple with the eligibility criteria for coverage.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre they going to say you have to be at a higher BMI with more health conditions to be eligible and treat those who have more?\u201d he said. \u201cOr are some provinces going to be bolder and say we want to prevent things from happening upstream?\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Sockalingam said, in an ideal world, body mass index, or BMI, should be used as a screening tool but not as the sole metric. Other health comorbidities, such as diabetes or hypertension, should also be considered.<\/p>\n

The Globe and Mail reached out to all provinces and territories, the majority of which said they are awaiting Health Canada approvals to make coverage decisions. A generic drug must be approved by Health Canada before it can be sold.<\/p>\n

Manitoba did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

How will cheaper versions of Ozempic tip the scales?<\/a><\/p>\n

The federal government, which operates the Non-Insured Health Benefits Program for eligible First Nations and Inuit, said it is monitoring work by the pCPA.<\/p>\n

Dr. Sabrina Kwon, medical director of the Alberta Obesity Centre North in Edmonton, said stigma and the upfront cost of covering obesity medications for a larger population are the likely reasons public coverage has so far been limited. <\/p>\n

She said provinces must look at the bigger picture: These medications are not just for weight loss but have wide-ranging benefits that can reduce pressure on the health care system and society over all. Dr. Kwon said, for example, GLP-1s are highly effective in improving blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe you\u2019re actually reducing the cost burden of this person having a heart attack in the future and then requiring the cardiac cocktail that comes along with it,\u201d she explained. <\/p>\n

Mauro Chies, chief executive of the pCPA, said in a statement that the organization will consider a new indication for Ozempic or Wegovy for negotiation if it receives a recommendation from Canada\u2019s Drug Agency or Quebec\u2019s equivalent.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo generic semaglutide products have received Health Canada approval at this point. Should a manufacturer receive authorization, we\u2019re ready to work with them on behalf of Canada\u2019s public drug plans,\u201d Mr. Chies said.<\/p>\n

Dr. Sockalingam stressed that, as treatments become more accessible, other supports must be strengthened in concert, noting that risks associated with obesity medications include eating disorders and mental-health problems.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Boxes of semaglutide injection pens on a shelf inside a fridge at Durham…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":389629,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[274],"tags":[4320,4309,4321,9,4302,4322,995,4301,4314,4315,4311,4303,4300,179,2597,18,440,4313,4307,4333,4304,4305,3428,135,19,17,4310,3521,3136,4323,462,4306,4328,4329,4331,4326,4330,4324,4327,430,4317,4318,790,4316,4325,4308,82,4319,4312,4222,66,4332],"class_list":{"0":"post-389628","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-alberta","9":"tag-arts-news","10":"tag-bc","11":"tag-breaking-news","12":"tag-breaking-news-video","13":"tag-british-columbia","14":"tag-canada","15":"tag-canada-news","16":"tag-canada-sports","17":"tag-canada-sports-news","18":"tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","19":"tag-canadian-breaking-news","20":"tag-canadian-news","21":"tag-economy","22":"tag-education","23":"tag-eire","24":"tag-environment","25":"tag-federal-government","26":"tag-foreign-news","27":"tag-globe-and-mail","28":"tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","29":"tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","30":"tag-government","31":"tag-health","32":"tag-ie","33":"tag-ireland","34":"tag-life-news","35":"tag-lifestyle","36":"tag-local-news","37":"tag-manitoba","38":"tag-medication","39":"tag-national-news","40":"tag-new-brunswick","41":"tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","42":"tag-northwest-territories","43":"tag-nova-scotia","44":"tag-nunavut","45":"tag-ontario","46":"tag-pei","47":"tag-photos","48":"tag-political-news","49":"tag-political-opinion","50":"tag-politics","51":"tag-politics-news","52":"tag-quebec","53":"tag-sports-news","54":"tag-technology","55":"tag-travel","56":"tag-trudeau","57":"tag-us-news","58":"tag-world-news","59":"tag-yukon"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389628","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=389628"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389628\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/389629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=389628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=389628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=389628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}