– High weight is a prison from which one should be released. Gordon Spangelid has struggled with overweight and obesity all his life and received a lot of help in the health care system for this. But it was only four years ago, when he received the slimming drug Saxenda, that life became the way he wanted. In 2023, the scheme was tightened for all obesity medicines, then patients could not get the medicine on a blue prescription. Photo: Jim Vondruska / Reuters – It means almost everything. It has sort of been the aid that has helped me to have a stable weight. I kind of haven’t had it in adulthood. Gordon was one of several obese patients who until 2023 received Saxenda on a blue prescription after individual application to Helfo. But in 2023, the scheme was tightened for all obesity medicines. Now only patients with a very high weight and additional illness are covered for the medicine. The costs of the medical treatment are too high in relation to the benefit, says senior physician in DMP Sigurd Hortemo. Photo: Hanna Johre / news The reason for the tightening is, according to the Directorate for Medical Products (DMP), that the costs of the treatment are too high in relation to the benefit, says senior physician Sigurd Hortemo. These lost support for obesity medication Saxenda has never been on a “regular blue prescription”, but HELFO was previously able to provide individual benefits for Saxenda to patients with BMI ≥ 40.0 or BMI ≥ 35.0 with an additional disorder. This possibility was removed on 1 February 2023. After this, only patients with very high weight (BMI > 50) and serious weight-related diseases will receive individual benefits for Saxenda. Today, around 100 people receive support for this medicine. Source: DMP/Hortemo This is also the case in Sweden and Denmark. But those who want to can buy the medicine at the pharmacy and pay for it themselves. Major social differences Many believe that the sale of anti-obesity drugs in pharmacies creates major social differences in society. – I think that is very unfair for those who cannot afford to pay themselves. That’s what nutritionist and head of the association Fedmeforskning Mette Svendsen says. The system creates social differences, says nutritionist and head of the association Fedmeforskning Mette Svendsen. Photo: Privat She says there are people who have tried everything to lose weight, but are unable to do so, and that medication is the only solution for them. In the USA, too, many believe that the obesity peak may have been reached, among other things, because of medicines. She receives support from the senior doctor at the children’s and youth department in Helse Førde, Hege Kristiansen, who is also head of the Association of Pediatricians. Hege Kristiansen is head of the Association of Pediatricians and believes that some children should also be given obesity medication. Photo: Anna Gytri She has a doctorate in obesity in children and also believes that they should have access to prescription obesity medicines. – The most important thing in the treatment is advice in relation to well-being, sleep, diet, activity and screen use. For some children, this is not enough and drug treatment is very effective and well tolerated. She says the young people describe that finally with the help of drugs they get help to follow the other advice. Today, it is legal to give obesity medication to children over 12 years of age, but then the families have to pay for it themselves. Somewhere between 15 and 21 per cent of all children are obese, not all of these need medication, but some of them do, she says. Obesity a growing problem According to the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, overweight and obesity are one of our biggest health problems. Senior doctor Haakon Meyer says that one in four adults is obese. Senior doctor Haakon Meyer says that one in four adults is obese. Photo: UIO The Directorate of Health is also concerned. – Overweight and obesity are a very serious public health challenge in Norway, and the development is going in the wrong direction. It is now only a minority of just over 30% of the adult population in Norway that has a normal weight. – It is particularly serious that overweight and obesity have increased sharply among children and young people, says Divisional Director for Public Health and Prevention in the Norwegian Directorate of Health Linda Granlund. Overweight and obesity are a very serious public health challenge in Norway, says Divisional Director for Public Health and Prevention in the Directorate of Health Linda Granlund. Photo: Finn Oluf Nyquist / Directorate of Health Diet and exercise are the recommended measures, but they do not work for everyone. When the most effective slimming drugs became available, demand increased sharply. Should more people get obesity drugs on blue prescription? No, our tax money should not go to this Yes, it evens out social differences and is good for society I don’t know Show result Wegovy is the most common obesity medicine. Photo: AFP Each month, more than 70,000 packs of this medicine are sold in pharmacies, figures from the Pharmacists’ Association show. These cost between NOK 1,700 and 3,000 per package and last approx. a month. For a period, several doctors also prescribed the drug Ozempic on a blue prescription as a slimming agent, which was against the rules and the authorities tightened these and introduced rationing. Sales of Ozempic, which is actually a diabetes medicine, have almost halved since January this year. More than 75,000 packs were sold then, while in October around 46,000 were sold. This is Ozempic Ozempic is basically a medicine developed against diabetes 2. Since it also reduces appetite, it has also been used as a slimming medicine. Ozempic is the trade name of a medicine containing semaglutide, a GLP-1 analogue. GLP1 analogues are the common name for medicines such as Saxenda, Ozempic and Wegovy. The Danish company Novo Nordisk has a practical monopoly on these drugs in Norway now. GLP1 is a natural hormone in the gut that regulates blood sugar. The drugs contain a substance that mimics this hormone, and were developed to treat type 2 diabetes. On 1 July, the authorities tightened the rules for Ozempic. Today, in practice, only diabetics have access to GLP1 analogues. Medicines solve something Doctors must be allowed to decide who needs obesity medicines, not a rigid set of regulations, says head of the association Fedmeforskning Mette Svendsen. Senior physician at the Haakon Institute of Public Health, Eduard Meyer, also believes that more people should have access to the medicines in a cheaper way. – There should be a role for these drugs in the treatment of those with serious obesity problems. But I can well understand that it is a challenge to find where the list should be. Because this can also result in very large costs for the public health system. Granlund in the Directorate of Health says there is too little focus on the fact that the medicines stop working as soon as you stop taking them. – Unfortunately, it seems that the anti-obesity drugs only work as long as you take them. It is possible that the effect diminishes somewhat over time and figures from the US’s health insurance companies indicate that many stop using them over time. She also says that it also turns out that many people get unpleasant side effects. – What place these medicines will have in society in the long term, and to what extent they will be covered by blue prescription, it is therefore too early to say so much about. Svendsen believes that these medicines must be seen in the same way as other medicines – If you start with medicines for high blood pressure, then you do not stop with these medicines when the blood pressure has improved. The Directorate for Medical Products (DMP) is considering whether more people should receive obesity drugs on a blue prescription. But it costs more than NOK 100 million for the state, and the politicians must adopt a possible change. – This means that the overall process will take longer than the 180 days that are DMP’s framework for case processing, says unit manager Rita Hvalbye. Gordon Spangelid finds it all unfair – I think it is bloody unfair that I have to sit in a situation where I almost have to destroy my finances in order to continue to have the life we have today. Published 28.10.2024, at 06.01
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Tens of thousands buy obesity drugs and pay out of pocket – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
