Across the country, changes to obesity medication coverage are putting access to treatment at risk, and patients in Massachusetts are feeling the impact.

Beginning July 1, MassHealth stopped covering medications used only for the treatment of obesity or overweight.  These decisions and insurance policies are more than words on paper. For patients, they can mean losing access to a treatment that is working.

Pamela, a MassHealth patient living with multiple sclerosis (MS) and obesity, knows what that feels like. Before starting a GLP-1, pain, tingling and numbness made it difficult for her to sleep through the night. After beginning treatment and losing weight, she says she was finally able to sleep through the night without the symptoms she had experienced before.

Then her coverage changed.

When Pamela learned she would no longer have coverage for Zepbound, she immediately understood what losing the treatment could mean for her.

“I called my doctor’s office crying uncontrollably as I knew what was to come.”

For three weeks, Pamela went without the medication. The symptoms that had once kept her awake began returning.

“I was terrified to go to sleep as I would wake up in excruciating pain and be unable to fall back to sleep. The daytime fatigue was back in full effect from being up all night.”

During those three weeks, Pamela also regained some of the weight she had lost. She has since been able to restart her medication, but without MassHealth coverage, she is now paying $400 out of pocket while living on disability income.

Her experience shows what can get lost when we talk about healthcare coverage in terms of policies, formularies and costs. For the person receiving care, these words on paper can change their everyday life. As she puts it, “I wish people would understand how taking this medication away from me has been a nightmare.”

Pamela’s experience is one example of what happens when access to obesity treatment is taken away. Across public and private health plans, people living with obesity are facing decisions that can put treatments they rely on out of reach.

Massachusetts residents can help change that. Tell Massachusetts lawmakers to protect access to obesity treatment medications.