People enrolled in Medicare face challenges accessing and affording obesity medications

Most Medicare patients prescribed a medication for obesity report the drug was not covered by their insurance—and about half never start because of declined coverage or out-of-pocket costs.

A recent national poll from the PAN Foundation’s Center for Patient Research finds that most people (85 percent) enrolled in Medicare or Medicare Advantage who have been diagnosed with and prescribed medications for obesity have faced challenges accessing and affording those medications.

The top three reasons include:

• Their healthcare providers had to change their obesity treatment prescription to alternative medications that were covered by their insurance (51 percent).
• The anti-obesity medications they were prescribed were not covered by their insurance (35 percent).
• Delays in approval from their insurance caused them delays in taking their obesity medications (31 percent).

Among those who have faced challenges, about half say they never started their obesity treatment medications. Our polling finds:

• 25 percent never started their medication for obesity because it wasn’t covered by their insurance
• 25 percent never started their medication because they couldn’t afford them
• 23 percent had to pay out-of-pocket for their obesity medication

About a quarter (26 percent) of Medicare beneficiaries polled report they have been diagnosed with obesity. Of those, nearly half (46 percent) have been prescribed anti-obesity medications to treat it. Most people (84 percent) enrolled in Medicare who have been diagnosed with obesity reported they would likely seek services from other healthcare providers (e.g., registered dietician, obesity specialist) to support their obesity treatment if it were covered by insurance.

“This new polling reinforces the challenges people enrolled in Medicare who are diagnosed with obesity face when accessing treatment,” said Amy Niles, Chief Mission Officer at the PAN Foundation. “This is why the PAN Foundation supports the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act (TROA), which would expand Medicare coverage of anti-obesity medications under Medicare Part D. In addition, earlier this year we launched the first obesity copay program for underinsured patients living with obesity offered by a charitable patient assistance foundation. This fund closed in just 1 hour and 15 minutes after opening back in July, speaking to the need for such support. At PAN, we will continue to work towards accelerating access to care for all—including those living with obesity—through our financial assistance, advocacy, and education initiatives.”

Resources

• PAN’s support of the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act (TROA) 
• PAN launches first obesity copay fund to expand access to treatment 

Polling methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States between August 12 – 14, 2025, among 2,090 adults (aged 18 and over), including 618 who self-report as being a Medicare/Medicare Advantage beneficiary, by The Harris Poll on behalf of PAN Foundation via its Harris On Demand omnibus product.

Data were weighted where necessary by age, gender, race/ethnicity, region, education, marital status, household size, household income, and political party affiliation, to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population. Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in our surveys. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within ± 2.5 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. This credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to other multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including, but not limited to coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments.

About the PAN Foundation

As a leading charitable foundation and healthcare advocacy organization, the PAN Foundation is dedicated to accelerating access to treatment for those who need it most and empowering patients on their healthcare journeys. We provide critical financial assistance for treatment costs, advocate for policy solutions that expand access to care, and deliver education on complex topics—all driven by our belief that everyone deserves access to affordable, equitable healthcare.

Since 2004, our financial assistance programs have helped more than 1.3 million people to start or stay on life-changing treatment. In addition, we’ve achieved major policy victories that increase access to care, mobilized patient advocates to call for change, and educated people nationwide on critical healthcare-related topics. We’re committed to working towards a future where equitable health outcomes are a reality for all. To learn more, visit panfoundation.org.