Rising use of weight-loss and diabetes drugs boosts profits for Cigna

Cigna sees rising demand for new obesity and diabetes drugs known as GLP-1s that will boost earnings, according to a company executive.

"GLP-1 utilization does continue to build," Cigna CFO Brian Evanko said during a call with analysts on Thursday. For Cigna's Evernorth Health Services segment, which includes pharmacy benefits and specialty-pharmacy services, it's "a positive contributor to our earnings." 

Read more:  Employees want weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. Can employers afford them?

The sharp uptick in use of drugs like Novo Nordisk's Ozempic and Wegovy, and Eli Lilly's Mounjaro is raising alarms about costs to health insurers, employers and government programs that pay for them.

Evernorth CEO Eric Palmer said the company recently launched a new program to bring together management of diabetes, obesity and cardiac health conditions.

Read more:  What my weight loss journey taught me about how healthcare works

For weight-loss in particular, the new class of drugs is facing some resistance from healthcare purchasers. Most private and public insurers aren't yet convinced that weight-loss drugs are worth covering. 

So far, just a quarter of private insurers cover the medications, and many of them restrict how long patients can take them or require proof that patients first tried other weight-loss methods. Medicare doesn't cover weight-loss drugs, though Congress is considering legislation to require the program to do so.