Claims study finds widening disparities in semaglutide and tirzepatide prescribing

The wire

1. 01Using Komodo Health claims for insured adults aged 18 to 64 with overweight or obesity and without type 2 diabetes, authors found higher uptake among female, non-Hispanic White patients and those seen by higher-socioeconomic-status providers.
2. 02Patients at lowest-quartile provider neighborhood socioeconomic status had adjusted odds of 0.75 (95% CI 0.73-0.78) versus the highest quartile, with gaps widening over time and largest at lower BMI categories.
3. 03Authors call for provider-level resourcing and pharmaco-equity in benefit design; the analysis covers only commercially insured patients and cannot capture cash-pay or compounded supply.

From the source

Sociodemographic disparities in semaglutide and tirzepatide prescription for obesity treatment

Health affairs scholar · 2026 Oct · Le MT, Stokes AC et al.