ST. PAUL — Minnesota legislators delayed action on a bill that would bar Medicaid coverage for prescription medications used solely for weight loss.
The bill authored by Rep. Danny Nadeau, R-Rogers, aims to prohibit the state’s Medical Assistance program from covering drugs known as GLP-1s if patients are using them exclusively for weight loss.
GLP-1s like Ozempic and Mounjaro were initially developed to treat Type 2 diabetes but gained popularity for their highly effective weight loss side effects. Now, many GLP-1s like Wegovy, manufactured by the same company that produces Ozempic, are marketed specifically for weight loss.
As of January of this year, 13 states, including Minnesota, cover weight loss medications for obesity treatments through Medicaid, according to Kaiser's 2025 Medicaid budget survey.
Despite concerns about obesity as a global health crisis, Nadeau said his main priority is to manage state spending.
“My bill is not about a discussion whether or not obesity is a chronic disease and condition that needs to be treated,” Nadeau said. “This is about balancing, or trying to balance, the costs of our health care system with the very, very increasing cost trend on certain drugs.”
Legislation mandating coverage of obesity treatment was first introduced in Minnesota in 2024 and has been reintroduced in the next two sessions. This year, bills in the House and Senate seek to require health plans to cover obesity treatments, including GLP-1s.
The Minnesota Council of Health Plans reported a sharp increase in the use of GLP-1s for weight loss based on Medicaid trends in 2024.
By April 2025, the average annual cost of GLP-1 treatment for one person was $12,000, the council said. These costs made up over 12% of Minnesota’s pharmaceutical costs.
Medical expenses in the form of pharmaceutical costs increased by 24% in the state in 2024.
Physicians, obesity experts and advocates for diabetes treatment spoke at a committee hearing on March 25 to challenge Nadeau’s bill, arguing that state spending for obesity management is cost effective in the long term.
Matt Prokop, the director of state government affairs for the American Diabetes Association, said obesity and the medical conditions that often accompany it, such as diabetes or high blood pressure, increase annual Medicaid spending by roughly $56 billion, citing a 2026 study from the ADA.
“Treating obesity early can prevent costly health complications and save the state money, especially in our most vulnerable populations like Minnesotans who have Medicaid coverage,” Prokop said.
Dr. Claudia Fox, a professor of pediatrics and the co-director of the Center for Pediatric Obesity Medicine at the University of Minnesota, said that obesity treatment through weight loss medications is life-saving care.
Fox referenced the case of a 14-year old, 270-pound patient of hers who was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and at risk of an early death from stroke or heart attack. After nine months of taking Wegovy, the patient dropped 57 pounds and his diabetes test normalized.
When his insurance plan changed and he could no longer afford his weight loss medication, the patient regained 23 pounds in three months.
“Denying obesity medications is a parity issue,” Fox said. “To treat obesity as a matter of vanity or fault ignores decades of scientific evidence.”
The bill was laid over for possible consideration in a larger bill later in the session.
Report for Minnesota is a project of the University of Minnesota’s Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication to support local news across the state.
