About one in eight adults (12%) say they’ve taken one of many more and more in style prescribed drugs referred to as GLP-1s, that are used for weight reduction, treating diabetes and lowering the danger of coronary heart illness and stroke , a brand new KFF Well being Monitoring Ballot Finds. This contains 6% of adults who say they’re at the moment taking one among these drugs, together with Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro

The share of adults who say they’ve ever used these medicine is highest amongst folks with diabetes (43%), adopted by folks with coronary heart illness (26%) and those that are overweight or obese (22%), the ballot exhibits. .

Amongst those that report ever utilizing the medicine, most (61%) say they’ve used the medicine to deal with a continual situation reminiscent of diabetes or coronary heart illness – alone (39%) or together with weight reduction (23% ). Almost 4 in ten (38%) say they’ve used the medicine solely to drop pounds.

Record costs for GLP-1 medicine will be as excessive as $1,000 for a month's provide previous to insurance coverage protection, rebates and coupons. About half (54%) of those that report ever taking the medicine say it has been troublesome to afford them, together with one in 5 (22%) who say it has been 'very troublesome'.

Having insurance coverage protection makes little distinction to sufferers' perceptions of the affordability of the drugs, with an identical proportion of these coated by insurance coverage saying the drugs are troublesome (53%) or very troublesome (23%) to afford are.

Many of the public favors Medicare protection of weight reduction drugs, even after listening to competing arguments

Whereas 9% of older adults aged 65 and older report ever utilizing the medicine, few (1%) say they did so solely to drop pounds – possible as a consequence of Medicare's ban on prescription drug protection for weight reduction. Medicare covers some drugs for diabetes and different situations.

About six-in-ten adults (61%) say Medicare ought to cowl these drugs if they’re prescribed for weight reduction to obese folks. This contains comparable shares throughout all age teams, and greater than half of Democrats, independents and Republicans.

The ballot additionally examined the affect of arguments for and towards Medicare protection, with briefs explaining that it may improve premiums for folks with Medicare and put monetary strain on the Medicare program and the federal price range, however that it may assist extra folks afford the drugs. and enhance the well being and high quality of lifetime of obese folks.

These arguments did little to alter public opinion, with comparable shares of most people and varied subgroups persevering with to choose Medicare protection.

Different findings embrace:

• About eight-in-ten (82%) adults say they’ve heard not less than “a bit of” about these drugs, together with about three-in-ten (32%) who say they’ve heard “quite a bit” about these drugs. Consciousness has elevated since July 2023, when round one in 5 (19%) stated they’d heard quite a bit in regards to the medicine.

• About eight in ten (79%) adults who’ve used GLP-1 drugs report receiving these drugs or a prescription for them from their main care doctor or a specialist. Fewer folks say they get it by way of a web based supplier or web site (11%), a medical spa or aesthetic medical middle (10%), or elsewhere (2%).

Designed and analyzed by opinion researchers at KFF. The survey was performed on-line and by phone between April 23 and Might 1, 2024, amongst a nationally consultant pattern of 1,479 U.S. adults in English and Spanish. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3 proportion factors for all the pattern. For outcomes primarily based on different subgroups, the margin of sampling error could also be better.