Real-World Data Show Semaglutide’s Impact on Health Care Utilization and Medical Costs for Patients With OW/OB
Key Takeaways
- Lower rates and costs of inpatient visits: Patients treated with semaglutide had 36% fewer inpatient visits than those who were not with 27% and 36% lower all-cause and obesity related complication (ORC)-related medical costs, respectively.
- More outpatient visits but lower costs: Treatment with semaglutide resulted in more outpatient visits, but all-cause and ORC-related costs were still lower than for patients who were not treated with semaglutide.
- Improvements in cardiometabolic markers: Patients who were treated with semaglutide had significant improvements in weight loss, blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), and cholesterol. Semaglutide-treated patients had greater weight reduction than those who were not on obesity medication.
A large observational study of a US administrative claims database examined the effects of semaglutide on HCRU and medical costs in patients with overweight or obesity (OW/OB) and multimorbidity.
Semaglutide, an approved therapy for treating OW/OB, has been shown to be effective in previous trials. It has resulted in lower health care utilization and reduced medical costs for patients with OW/OB, heart failure (HF), and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). However, these studies did not include patients with multiple ORCs or multimorbidity conditions. This study sought to address that gap by observing the effects of semaglutide on patients with multiple ORCs.
Study Findings
The patients were divided into 2 cohorts: the semaglutide group (175 092 patients), which received the treatment, and the control group (17 572 333 patients), who did not receive any obesity medications.
The group treated with semaglutide also saw significant improvements in cardiometabolic markers such as weight reduction, total cholesterol, BMI, and blood pressure. These improvements were statistically higher than those in the control group. For example, the semaglutide group saw more weight reduction: for the first 52 weeks of the study, 499 (28%) patients achieved a weight loss of 20% as opposed to 21 (1.6%) patients from the control group.
The semaglutide group experienced 27% lower all-cause medical costs and 36% lower ORC-related medical costs than the control group. Additionally, inpatient visit rates were 36% lower, and overall costs were 59% lower in the semaglutide group. These findings indicate that semaglutide is connected with less health care utilization and lower medical costs.
Although inpatient visits were lower for the semaglutide group, the opposite is true for outpatient visits. The number of all-cause and ORC-related outpatient visits was higher than in the control group. However, outpatient costs were still lower in the semaglutide group, indicating frequent but low-intensity visits. The authors explain that “This finding is not unexpected, as patients initiating semaglutide therapy require additional visits for dose escalation and monitoring.”
Lower inpatient hospitalization rates and costs contributed to significantly reduced medical costs. Patients in the semaglutide group experienced lower all-cause and ORC-related total medical costs than the group that did not receive any treatment, with an annual reduction of $3870 and $3482, respectively.
Implications for Providers
Based on the real-world data from this study, semaglutide is shown not only to be effective in treating patients with OW/OB but is also helpful in reducing medical costs and HCRU. More research is needed to examine the full effects of semaglutide’s impact on real-world settings, but current studies and trials show promise for bettering outcomes and lowering the economic burden for patients.
Reference
Arora P, Dabbous F, Udayachalerm S, et al. Real-world healthcare resource utilization and medical costs in patients with overweight or obesity and multimorbidity treated with semaglutide in the United States. Expert Rev of Pharmacoeconomics & Outcomes Res. 2026;26(2):289-301. doi:10.1080/14737167.2025.2610206
