State may help pay for weight-loss drugs

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A committee of doctors and pharmacists has agreed to provide two popular weight loss drugs to an estimated 874 obese Medicaid patients.

Officials said the nearly $1 million annual cost of the drugs could eventually save the state money by reducing those patients'

potential for future health problems.

The Drug Utilization Review Board approved adding orlistat and sibutramine to a list of free prescription drugs available to poor and disabled people who qualify for the state Medicaid program.

One of the drugs costs about $100 per patient per month.

Qualifying patients would have to meet obesity criteria or be excessively overweight with additional health problems.

Federal Medicaid funds would cover 71 percent of the drugs'

expense -- about $640,000. After factoring in estimates of nearly $150,000 in pharmaceutical company rebates, about $162,000 in state funds would go toward the drugs' costs, officials said.

The drugs, known commercially as Xenical and Meridia, help patients who are battling obesity and the health complications that stem from it. Currently, 35 states have approved the drugs' use for Medicaid patients.

Research has shown that excess weight increases a person's risk of developing medical problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and heart disease.

"The impetus driving this decision is keeping people from events such as stroke, kidney failure, diabetes and other chronic conditions," said Dr. Thomas Whitsett, Drug Utilization Review Board chairman. "We're trying to provide better care and keep people out of the hospital."

Both drugs must be used along with a low-fat, low-calorie diet and an exercise program.

Dr. Ronald Painton, an Oklahoma City endocrinologist, said he started prescribing Xenical after it was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1999. Since then, 20 to 30 of his patients who are obese or excessively overweight with additional medical problems have benefited from the drug, he said.

"I prescribe it mostly to people who have tried dieting and exercise but aren't successful in long-term weight loss," Painton said.

Oklahoma Medicaid patients would be limited to using Xenical or Meridia for one year. Those who do not lose at least 3 percent of their original weight would be taken off the drug after 90 days.

The board's recommendation will be considered by the Oklahoma Health Care Authority board of directors this spring.