What Happens Now?
The Eli Lilly Mounjaro coupon that so many of us obese non-diabetics have been using to access this life changing obesity medication expires today. So I got in my car and drove to Dixon, 30 minutes from home, to pick up what is likely to be my last box of Mounjaro until my health insurance plan catches up with the latest science related to the chronic disease of obesity. I cannot afford to pay $1200/month out of pocket. I have been on 12.5mg for the last two months. I would have chosen to stay on that dosage, but I was unable to find it within a 25 mile radius of my home, and since the coupon expires today, I could not wait for my pharmacy to order it for me. So my pharmacy searched their database and found one box of 10mg available 30 minutes from my home. Thankfully, I still had the 10mg ordered for me, in case of shortage, and without hesitation, I hopped in my car to go pick it up before another desperate coupon holder snatched it up.
I have been losing very slowly for the last few months, in part because of my Mexico vacations, and my plastic surgery revision. And also because the average weight loss on Mounjaro is 21% over 72 weeks. I have lost 44 lbs, or 19% over 43 weeks. I now have two months of Mounjaro in my fridge and hope to get to my 100 lb goal of 172 lbs and out of the obese range for BMI in that time. I remain hopeful that all of these changes I have made will allow me to maintain the loss that my plastic surgeon, Mounjaro, and my own hard work have given me. As always, I will keep you posted, lol.
This video is my plea to CVS Caremark, my insurance carrier for medications, to please look at my appeal for coverage for Mounjaro from all angles. Please scrutinize my case individually, and do not just lump me into the “she doesn’t have diabetes and it’s not yet FDA approved for obesity and it’s not in our formulary” category. The clinical trials and my own anecdotal evidence support it’s use for this purpose. I have heard of other people like me whose insurance approved their prior authorization request for this particular medication, so I know it is possible. And I know first hand, as I have been on it for 10 months now, how preventative medicine can change a life.
If you have read this far and care about my battle and support other people like me and think that my insurance company should step up and show out, please like, comment, and most especially, SHARE this video/post to increase awareness and accessibility to medications for the treatment of Obesity. We all deserve to live a healthful life and some of us need the help of science to achieve that.
With Love and hope,
Annie