The glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) drugs for diabetes and weight loss have soared to the top of the drug sales charts, but respondents to the annual Managed Healthcare Executive Pharmacy Survey see some trouble brewing amid the ascent

Fully half (50%) of the respondents to our survey indicated agreement with the statement that GLP-1s are a meaningful advance but that payers can’t afford coverage for prescriptions for everyone who might benefit from them. And just over a third (34%) indicated that they believe that many GLP-1 prescriptions are wasteful because people stop taking the drugs as prescribed. Most evidence suggests that people who take a GLP-1 for weight loss tend to gain the weight back if they stop taking the drug.

The GLP-1s include semaglutide, sold under the brand name

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