The cost of prescriptions for weight loss drugs is being brought into question, with doctors pushing for the medication to become more accessible.

The drugs are becoming more widely used in the health industry, including for some Australians who are a part of the one in three classed as obese.

Queensland resident Kate Fox turned to the injectable weight loss medication Mounjaro and lost 45 kilos.

“It feels like it flipped a switch for me,” Fox said.

“At the beginning of 2024, I was around 110kg to 115kg, it was the heaviest I’ve ever been.

Ozempic is subsidised for people with diabetes in Australia while its sister drug Wegovy and another injectable Mounjaro are the first new generation drugs approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) for weight loss.

However Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) chairperson Dr Terri-Lynne South said patients have to pay hundreds of dollars for the drug.

“Certainly with these newer medications the health gains are almost double what we’ve been seeing in the past,” South said.

“On a private script at the lowest dose, it’s recommended retail price is $260 and at its highest dose it’s up to $460 per month.”

The RACGP is calling for these types of drugs to be put on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to manage obesity, bringing the cost down to $31.60 per month.

“In treating obesity we can potentially prevent the development of those complications, including heart disease,” South said.

The UK recently agreed to publicly fund these game changing drugs for selected patients to treat obesity.

However, in Australia Wegovy has been knocked back for subsidy twice.

For Fox, the cost of the drug has been worth it alongside her healthy eating and exercise plan. 

“The cost to us down the track will be lessened if we can optimise our health early on,” she said.