Weight Loss Revolution Part 2: How Connecticut is helping state workers shed pounds
Click here to watch part one of Weight Loss Revolution: The pros and cons of weight loss drugs.
HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — The biggest employer in Connecticut is the state. While other states have rolled back GLP-1 coverage, Connecticut is leaning in by partnering with a new program that state officials hope will save tax dollars in the long run.
Darlene Erlingheuser-Marks is a math teacher at Kaynor Technical High School. She needed a bilateral knee replacement, but her doctor said she needed to lose weight to get the surgery.
Weight Loss Revolution Part 1: The pros and cons of weight loss drugs
'I went to see a weight loss doctor, and he immediately jumped to weight loss surgery,' she said. 'I said it's not something I'm interested in, so he offered to prescribe Ozempic or something along those lines, one of those GLP medications. It just wasn't available. It wasn't something you could find a year ago.'
Marks' predicament wasn't unique. Due to the rising popularity of weight loss medications, drug makers have struggled to keep up with skyrocketing demand. Sometimes, there are shortages, making finding GLP-1 medications impossible.
Weighing the supply, demand and costs for these drugs. Comptroller Sean Scanlon said the state needed to change how insurance covers weight loss for state workers.
'We had a big problem, which was that our costs had increased by 50% in 2023 over what we had used the previous year, and rather than just turn off access to these drugs like other states are doing, or continue cover them and see our numbers go up and up, we were searching for an innovative solution and we found one in a Connecticut company,' he said.
The state of Connecticut partnered with FlyteHealth, a medical weight management program co-founded by Dr. Katherine Saunders and Sloan Saunderes. Saunders is also an obesity physician at Cornell Medicine.
'The reason why the state of Connecticut brought us in is because we have the expertise,' she said. 'We have so much experience using the full range of obesity medications so we can do this in a way that's really effective but also cost-effective because we are prescribing the GLP-1s in a really judicious way.'
By telehealth, Flyte pairs patients with a team of specialists and physicians to develop a detailed plan to tackle obesity.
'It's really important, before prescribing a really powerful medication like this, to do an extremely thorough evaluation of every single patient to understand every single factor that has led to their obesity and every single barrier that has made it hard to treat their obesity,' Saunders said,
She said FlyteHealth ensures doctors know GLP-1 drugs aren't the only solution to weight loss. They can prescribe them as one of the many medications available.
Marks enrolled in Flyte, and doctors prescribed her an anti-diabetic drug called Metformin and Topamax, a migraine medication. Marks said the drugs have helped quiet what's called 'food noise.'
'It was almost like a miracle,' she said. 'All of a sudden, I was like, I don't care what we're having for dinner. I'll worry about it when it's time to eat dinner.'
Marks lost 70 pounds.
'I'm at the same weight I was in my 20s,' she said. 'And I'm 46 now. I'm wearing the same size now when I got married. That alone is a huge accomplishment.'
The state of Connecticut has more than 40,000 people on its payroll. As of February, 11,000 state employees had enrolled in Flyte. For those who had been enrolled for more than a year, weight dropped an average of 16.6%.
'If we can make their health better, they will be more productive,' Scanlon said. 'I see it in the faces of state employees.'
Since the start of Flyte in 2023, the comptroller's office says GLP-1 drug spending has dropped from 55% annual growth to 20%, reducing state projected costs by $10 million.
Following the success of FlyteHealth's pilot, the state has chosen to expand the program for three years and expand coverage to retirees. The state is projecting 1,000 more employees join Flyte in 2025.
'The state is saving money in the problem in the long run because of all the other diseases that come along with untreated obesity, like heart disease, cancer, different problems that will cost the state more money in the long run,' he said. 'Every person who is a taxpayer in this state should want a productive, healthy workforce serving them on a daily basis.'
This program has made a big difference in Marks's life. She is now eligible for knee surgery, but she said she won't need it soon.
'I haven't scheduled it yet because now I'm in less pain,' she said. 'And I'd like to put it off a little longer 'cause I'm not very old. I want a good healthy heart, and now that I'm moving more and being a more physically active person, I'm helping my body be healthier, which matters to me.'
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