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House panel says no to proposal that would restore access to GLP-1 medications for adults on Medicaid

FILE - The injectable drug Ozempic in Houston on July 1, 2023. Photo: Associated Press/AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File


CONCORD, N.H.- A House panel has said no to a proposed bill that recently cleared the Senate which would restore access to GLP-1 medications for weight loss for those adults on Medicaid.

Without debate Wednesday the House Commerce and Small Business Committee voted 13-2 to kill off Senate Bill 455.

Under the bill sponsored by Sen. Sue Prentiss D-Lebanon, commercial insurance plans to cover drugs like Wegovy, that further regulate blood sugar, digestion and appetite, that would be used for weight loss, however Prentiss also ended up altering the bill so it would directly benefit adults on Medicaid, which the Senate passed on a voice vote.

The bill’s defeat comes as the State’s Department of Health and Human Services spoke out against the measure, noting that restoring the benefit which was terminated by Governor Kelly Ayotte in January would cost taxpayers $8.5 million in the next fiscal year and $30.2 million over the next two years.

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