The federal government has officially made movement in getting weight-loss drugs on the PBS.
Discussions around the public funding for weight-loss drugs have begun to gain some traction in the government mud.
This movement comes as the federal government is now actively pursuing a push to introduce weight-loss medications to the PBS.
“This marks an important step forward in the conversation about obesity as a chronic disease that deserves serious and sustained policy attention,” Dr Mark Mellor, the RACGP’s WA lead of its obesity management special interest group, said in a statement on LinkedIn.
“Next week, we meet with the Department of Health to discuss our proposal in more detail.
“We’re hopeful that Australia can become a global leader in evidence-based, accessible obesity care.”
Drug companies are reportedly on edge awaiting the official stance of the Pharmaceuticals Benefits Advisory Committee that will guide the advice given to federal health minister Mark Butler.
Mr Butler has requested the advice of the committee to help determine future applications for public funding of GLP-1 agonists and similar drugs under the PBS.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration has confirmed the PBAC’s advisory role in future submissions and has stated that it “will be positioned alongside the (health department’s) broader work on obesity policy”.
This push comes as a way to regulate public use of weight-loss drugs given the recent boom in misinformation that has come with the trend in increased GLP-1 usage.
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With the potential subsidisation of weight-loss drugs, advocacy bodies have praised the push for how it will increase accessibility for lower socioeconomic groups to much needed care.
“We are advocating for funded access to treatment, as a first step, for people with a body mass index over 40 with three weight-related health impairments or at least one severe weight-related health impairment,” Dr Mellor told newsGP.
“People in the lower socioeconomic groups are disproportionately affected but the least able to afford these treatments, but also you see higher rates of obesity and therefore weight-related health impairment in those groups.
“I believe there is an appetite there from the [federal] Department of Health to tackle this. They’re just not sure exactly how to approach it.”
The push is expected to follow the model proposed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in the UK.
Currently, the related costs of obesity are putting a $12 billion strain per year in direct healthcare costs, with predictions seeing this figure to rise to $87.7 billion by 2032 without effective intervention.
“We urge the Australian government to adopt a structured model for obesity care,” the report, led by Dr Mellor stated.
“All Australians with obesity who seek treatment should have access to the full range of evidence-based options.”
