BOSTON (SHNS) – Roughly three-quarters of spending on GLP-1 drugs in Massachusetts was for weight loss in 2025, but spending in 2026 is expected to “drop significantly” due to changes in insurance coverage, according to the Health Policy Commission.
Between 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, 112,000 fewer commercially insured members used a GLP-1 drug for weight loss. That 52% decline contributed to decreased 2026 annualized spending of $662 million, the HPC said Thursday.
The shift comes after a period between 2019 and 2025 when spending on the drugs for weight loss grew at an average annual rate of 99.5%, the HPC said. The data, which will be discussed during a board meeting Thursday, is a preview of GLP-1 drug trends that will be included in the HPC Office of Pharmaceutical Policy and Analysis’s first annual report.
Gross spending on the drugs — before manufacturer rebates and discounts — reached over $2.3 billion in 2025, while net spending on GLP-1 drugs for commercially insured Bay Staters totaled nearly $1 billion, per the HPC…