GLP-1 drugs are reshaping health spending
Weight-loss drugs like semaglutide are wildly popular. But the bill is mounting fast: the US spent nearly $5.7 trillion on health care in 2025, with GLP-1 medications now forming their own spending category.
New government data, published in Health Affairs, show that American health care spending rose 7.3 percent in 2025 compared with 2024. That works out to more than $16,500 per person per year. GLP-1 receptor agonists (drugs that mimic the action of satiety hormones and are used for obesity and diabetes) have become a budget category of their own.
The rise is not driven by these drugs alone. Americans are also visiting doctors more often, undergoing more hospital procedures, and filling more prescriptions than economists predicted. The combination of higher utilisation and the country’s already elevated price baseline is pushing health care to a larger share of the economy.
Popular but expensive
The data highlight that the widespread rollout of GLP-1 drugs is straining budgets for insurers and government alike. Their popularity also sharpens the question of which patients genuinely benefit from long-term use and which do not.
A longevity perspective: beyond weight loss
For the longevity field, GLP-1 receptor agonists are interesting for another reason. Beyond weight loss, studies are finding signals that these drugs may also slow cardiovascular disease, kidney damage, and possibly neurodegenerative conditions. Whether those broader effects justify the cost growth is an open question that will sit at the centre of both science and policy in the years ahead.