UK lawmakers say NHS rollout of Mounjaro weight-loss shots is too slow
A group of UK lawmakers says the NHS plan to give the weight-loss shot Mounjaro to 220,000 people is "unambitious," the BBC and Sky News reported. That is only about 6% of those eligible. The lawmakers warned that only people who can pay are getting good access.
A committee of UK lawmakers says England's health service is moving too slowly to give people the weight-loss shot Mounjaro, according to the BBC and Sky News.
The House of Commons health committee, made up of members from several parties, called the plan "unambitious," the BBC and Sky News reported. It said the drug would reach a "woefully small number" of people.
The NHS plans to give Mounjaro to 220,000 people over three years, Sky News reported. The BBC said that is only about 6% of the people who qualify. The NHS is working on a 12-year rollout because of the cost, though that plan is being reviewed, the BBC said.
About 2.8 million people in England could qualify for the drug, the BBC and Sky News reported. Giving it to all of them at once would cost the NHS £15.2 billion over five years.
Mounjaro is a weekly shot that curbs hunger and helps people feel full longer, Sky News reported. A month's supply costs about £150 to £350 for people who pay on their own, Sky News said.
The committee warned that a "two-tier system" has formed, the BBC and Sky News reported. People who can pay get the drug, and those who can't are left out. "Access to GLP-1 medication appears increasingly to be determined by ability to pay rather than clinical need," the lawmakers wrote, according to Sky News.
The committee wants obesity treated as a long-term condition, like diabetes, the BBC and Sky News said. It said the NHS should make more use of online providers, which do much of the work now done by family doctors, the BBC reported. It also called for a crackdown on the black market for weight-loss drugs, the BBC said.
Obesity costs the UK economy about £75 billion a year, the BBC reported.
NHS England said it is looking for ways to speed up access, the BBC and Sky News reported. For now, it is "rightly prioritising these treatments for those with the most severe and complex needs," it said, according to the BBC.
What we know: Lawmakers want the NHS to give Mounjaro to far more people, faster.
What we don't: Whether the government will speed up the rollout, and how it would pay for it.
Where outlets agree The BBC and Sky News report that the Commons health committee called the NHS Mounjaro rollout unambitious and warned of a two-tier system based on ability to pay.
Where they differ The cited reports agree on the key facts so far.