Federal Health and Social Affairs Minister Frank Vandenbroucke (Flemish socialist Vooruit) has not given the go-ahead for the reimbursement by the health funds of Wegovy, a drug for treating obesity. In doing so, he is following the advice of the Medicines Reimbursement Committee within the state health insurance agency Riziv, although he describes the decision as “not straightforward”.
Belgian health minister Vandenbroucke refuses to reimburse weight-loss drug Wegovy
Colin Clapson
Published:
Wegovy is a medicine based on semaglutide. This is a derivative of a hormone that we ourselves produce in our gut when we eat, GLP-1. It slows down gastric emptying and reduces feelings of hunger. This enables people to lose weight.
However, there are also uncertainties. For instance, weight increases again after treatment is stopped. There are also common gastrointestinal complaints such as nausea, diarrhea and vomiting.
Billions of euros per year
Wegovy would have to be considered as a long-term, chronic treatment. According to Vandenbroucke, reimbursement would also set a precedent for a whole range of anti-obesity medications.
Previous calculations show that, in a scenario where all eligible patients were treated, the cost could run into billions of euros per year, and even exceed half of the total medicines budget.
According to the minister, spending on a treatment whose effects disappear as soon as it is stopped would crowd out other essential care for other patients, without any certainty as to what health benefits we would gain for the population in return.
‘Putting the patient first’
‘Obesity is a chronic disease which, like all other chronic diseases, deserves the best and, above all, the right care,’ Vandenbroucke emphasises.
‘You can only sustain chronic treatment by putting patients first and surrounding them with appropriate forms of support, through collaboration between different healthcare disciplines. Not just medication, but also intensive support from physiotherapists, dieticians, psychologists and, quite simply, a healthy lifestyle.’
What about other treatments?
GLP-1 analogues such as Ozempic, Rybelsus, Trulicity, Victoza and Xultophy are reimbursed for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.
However, the conditions for reimbursement have been tightened since 1 February. Anyone wishing to qualify for reimbursement now needs prior approval from their health insurance fund. An exception has long been in place for the drug Mounjaro.