{"id":721302,"date":"2026-01-26T06:20:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T06:20:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/721302\/"},"modified":"2026-01-26T06:20:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T06:20:11","slug":"should-the-taxpayer-fund-weight-loss-medications-the-front-page","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/721302\/","title":{"rendered":"Should the taxpayer fund weight loss medications? \u2013 The Front Page"},"content":{"rendered":"

They\u2019re looking at whether it could be funding for people with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more with at least one weight-related health condition, people with insufficiently controlled type 2 diabetes, or those with cardiovascular disease with a BMI of 27 or more.<\/p>\n

Currently, if you\u2019re prescribed Wegovy, for instance, you need to pay about $460 a month.<\/p>\n

After Australia committed to funding it for certain patients, the same script will be about $29.<\/p>\n

Obesity specialist Dr Gerard McQuinlan told The Front Page<\/b><\/a> we need to start treating obesity like a disease.<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably the biggest misconception is that it\u2019s a failure of willpower.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that diet and lifestyle just by themselves work for a short period of time. But only about one in 20 patients will actually succeed and keep the weight off.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a common story for people who\u2019ve been on three, four, or five diets in their lifetime, and over that time, they just got bigger. That\u2019s not a chance thing. That\u2019s due to the brain\u2019s hormone control of weight. So, weight is controlled by hormones in the brain that interact with the gut,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

McQuinlan believed subsidising weight loss medications would save the taxpayer in the long run.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the taxpayer\u2019s upset about funding treatments for obesity, that\u2019s like saying to the taxpayer you should feel upset that we are treating diabetes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to see obesity as a disease, first and foremost. And that\u2019s gonna be quite a big shift. It\u2019ll probably take years to shift that focus.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think if it\u2019s tracked well, the Government could probably see savings. Less liver transplants, less patients with diabetes, who then have other significant operations, less osteoarthritis, and less disability,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Listen to the full episode<\/b><\/a> to hear more about:<\/b><\/p>\n