Over the last year or so, several new drugs have made a big impact in the weight loss world, the most popular one being Ozempic.  While many of these drugs were initially developed to help treat Type 2 Diabetes, they are now being heavily prescribed for weight loss.   

New Opportunities

Given the success of these drugs for easy weight loss, many opportunities have arisen for providers, and essentially, a new market has been created for these drugs.  We are seeing new weight loss clinics open, internal medicine and family medicine physicians prescribing for weight loss in their practices, and medi-spas and fitness centers adding these treatments to their offerings.

My Medical Malpractice Insurance Covers This, Right?  Wrong.

The use of Ozempic, for example, for weight loss is considered off-label.  And, typically, medical malpractice insurance policies do NOT cover providers for off-label prescribing.  Therefore, it is imperative that providers find out if their use of these drugs for weight loss are considered off-label or not and if they are currently covered for this type of care/prescribing. 

It is also important to note that not all carriers provide this kind of coverage.  Thus, even though the liability is low, a provider’s current medical malpractice insurance carrier may not be able to cover them for this. (Or, sometimes they are willing to cover, but at the provider’s specialty rating, which tends to be very expensive.)  Thus, the provider might need to purchase a separate, stand alone weight loss policy. 

What Should I Do If I Am Already Prescribing in an Off-label Capacity?

We’d be happy to review your current insurance policy to see if you are covered or not.  And, if you need coverage, we can assist.  We have relationships with several carriers who are willing to cover off-label prescribing.  Policies are typically easy to get and are inexpensive.   

Additional resources:

• From the FDA:  Understanding Unapproved Use of Approved Drugs "Off Label"   
• Article from the Mayo Clinic Proceedings:  Ten Common Questions (and Their Answers) About Off-label Drug Use

With Nexus, we can get you quotes for coverage in as little as 2-3 business days and in some cases, the next business day. 

Contact us today to see if we can help you!