Gov. Kelly Ayotte is defending her decision that starting Jan. 1, the state Medicaid program will no longer pay for clients to receive so-called GLP-1 drugs such as Wegovy or Ozempic solely for weight loss.

“We looked at the way that the state was supporting coverage for GLP-1 medicines and found that this was a fairly significant cost driver,” Ayotte told reporters last week.

“And so we looked at the medically necessary reasons for it in terms of those who had pre-existing conditions and made the decision working with Health and Human Services to come up with a modified policy that will still allow medications in those circumstances, but then really make sure it is cost sustainable going forward.”

Critics maintain while this change will save state taxpayers money in the short term, it

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