Back to News

Posted
August 23, 2024

Studies find economic, racial disparities in prescription of weight-loss drugs

A number of recent analyses have found that Black and Hispanic patients and those with lower incomes populations are less likely to be prescribed the new generation of GLP-1weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro or their counterparts, even though these groups are at higher risk for Type 2 diabetes (Source: “Weight-loss drugs are a hot commodity. But not in low-income neighborhoods.,” Washington Post, Aug. 19).

National studies confirm the disparities in access. Serena Jingchuan Guo at the University of Florida has documented that diabetes patients who are Black in regions seeing a boom in use of the GLP-1 weight-loss drugs — including New York and Silicon Valley — are half as likely to have access as their white counterparts despite having a higher prevalence of diabetes. Another analysis, by medical data analytics firm Komodo Health, found that among patients prescribed Ozempic, Mounjaro, Wegovy and Rybelsus in 2021-2022, 65% were white, while 59% of the U.S. population is white.

But significantly larger proportions of Black and Hispanic Americans were uninsured, did not have a usual source of care, had low family income or lacked higher education, factors that predict whether someone is on the medication. In addition, researchers worried about social determinants of health and biased beliefs from doctors that decreased the likelihood that these drugs would be prescribed.

Three researchers from Yale and Yale New Haven Hospital — Yuan Lu, Yuntian Liu and Harlan M. Krumholz — wrote in the Journal of the American Heart Association that “improving health insurance coverage alone is necessary, but probably not sufficient to eliminate such inequity.”

Attend HPIO's 2025 Health Policy Summit on Oct. 9, 2025

With limited resources and growing need, investing in policies that deliver the greatest impact is essential. This event will highlight strategies that improve health and wellbeing while reducing healthcare spending. Speakers will provide evidence-informed research responsive to today’s political climate, focusing on what works and why it matters now more than ever.

Register now