The Ozempic Capital of America Is in Kentucky

1 out of 25 people in Bowling Green had a prescription for a weight loss drug
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 14, 2024 8:00 AM CDT
The Ozempic Capital of America Is in Kentucky
The injectable drug Ozempic is shown Saturday, July 1, 2023, in Houston.   (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)

It might be natural to assume the Ozempic center of America is a wealthy, image-conscious place like Hollywood. But as Madison Muller, Devin Leonard, and Tanaz Meghjani write for Bloomberg Businessweek, that assumption is off by about 2,000 miles. It turns out Bowling Green, Kentucky, boasts the highest percentage of people with weight loss drug prescriptions of anywhere in the country, according to data from prescription-tracker PurpleLab Inc. In the past year, at least 4% of the town's 74,000 residents have gotten a prescription to take Ozempic or a weight loss drug like it. For comparison, Brooklyn and the Miami area have rates nearer 1%. And that 4% is a "conservative estimate," as PurpleLab doesn't track certain users (like people who pay out of pocket).

"The drugs' proliferation in the city is even more impressive when you consider that Kentucky's state Medicaid program doesn't cover them," Muller, Leonard, and Meghjani note—and yet they argue that proliferation is understandable. The state lands in the top 10 when it comes to obesity in the US; the area "is comfortably middle class" and hosts a number of big companies whose insurance plans have covered the pricey shots. "We're redneck enough to be fat, but smart enough to do something about it," is how one retired schoolteacher put it. And yet some of those companies are ending their coverage, and some patients are losing enough weight that their insurers say they no longer qualify, though they still have substantial weight to lose. (Read the full story for much more, including stories of residents who are on the shots.)

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