Up to 80,000 people in Ireland may qualify for State-funded weight-loss injections

Around 80,000 of the 1.2m people classified as obese in Ireland will likely avail of State-funded weight-loss injections if the drugs are approved for medical card holders or under the HSE's Drug Payment Scheme.

The HSE's national clinical lead for obesity, Professor Donal O’Shea, says a health technology assessment (HTA)— evaluating the medical, social, ethical, and economic implications — of the weight-loss wonder-drug Mounjaro is to be published in the coming weeks, which is the “precursor to making a decision about who will get it”.