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Weight loss injections can be used to achieve a lasting reduction in body weight.
sda (Archivbild)
The demand for slimming injections is unbroken. However, health insurance companies are now sounding the alarm due to rising costs. There are also calls from politicians to review the effectiveness of the drug.
Weight loss injections are seen worldwide as a hope against obesity and diabetes. The drugs are also in high demand in Switzerland, but only one active ingredient was available until 2024, leading to shortages.
Since last year, however, another active ingredient has been approved, the costs of which are also covered by health insurance. For patients who are severely or very severely overweight, the preparations are covered by basic insurance.
However, health insurance companies are now sounding the alarm: the cost of the popular diet injections is skyrocketing. This is reported by the newspaper "Blick". Experts expect the therapies to cost premium payers up to CHF 300 million a year in the medium term.
It is questionable whether the weight loss injections are effective. This is because studies have shown that patients gain weight again shortly after discontinuing the active ingredient.
However, for a medication to be covered by basic insurance, it must be effective. And health insurers are increasingly questioning this. CSS, for example, is "critical of the cost-effectiveness and effectiveness in terms of sustainability", as it told the newspaper. It is "problematic" that the necessary criteria are only met because it is assumed that weight loss automatically prevents secondary diseases or diabetes.
According to the report, in addition to CSS, Groupe Mutuel and Helsana Insurance also question the benefits of the active ingredient. For Helsana, it should also be "clarified whether these drugs actually have a positive impact on the health of the population in the long term".
The cost of diet drugs is also a matter of political concern. "Due to the high costs, which are paid jointly and severally by premium payers, it is crucial that the criteria of efficacy, appropriateness and cost-effectiveness of these drugs are examined in detail," says Damian Müller, member of the Lucerne FDP Council of States.
The Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), however, is playing it down: There can be no question of a hasty inclusion in basic care, it tells "Blick". After all, the three criteria were carefully clarified. Moreover, the drug was only included for a limited period of three years due to the lack of long-term studies: "The FOPH will closely monitor the criteria and review them again before the deadline expires."
