Ohio bill would reimburse state workers for GLP-1 drug costs

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A bipartisan bill introduced in the Ohio House aims to reimburse state employees and elected officials for out-of-pocket costs related to GLP-1 drugs used for chronic weight management.

House Bill 388, sponsored by Reps. Josh Williams (R-Sylvania) and Dontavius Jarrells (D-Columbus), would allow eligible individuals to apply for monthly reimbursements if they purchase FDA-approved GLP-1 drugs through a manufacturer’s direct-to-consumer program or participating pharmacy. Williams said the proposal comes amid concern that the Ohio Department of Administrative Services may limit or eliminate GLP-1 coverage under the state employee health plan.

“You may not be able to tell from my current physical appearance, but I used to be 458 pounds. I had weight loss surgery in 2013. I lost 200 pounds and then I regained the weight back,” Williams said in a NBC4 interview. “I was trying to use different medications through my primary care physician and eventually we settled on GLP-1s and I was successful, losing over 100 pounds.”

Under the bill, eligible employees or officials whose body mass index is 30 or higher at the start of treatment could apply for monthly reimbursements of up to $500 during the first year, and up to $250 or 50% of the cost in the second year. Reimbursements would be available for a period of up to 24 months, with the possibility of reapplying after six months if certain weight regain criteria are met.

The bill prohibits reimbursement for compounded versions of the drugs and requires proof of purchase and physician-verified BMI documentation.

Williams said the bill was inspired in part by recent federal efforts to lower prescription drug costs by bypassing traditional pharmacy benefit managers and encouraging direct-to-consumer models.

“We listened to President Trump, who’s been promoting getting the PBMs, the middleman, out of the way, and being able to get to the true cost of what prescription drugs are and we designed a program that would do that,” Williams said.

According to Williams, DAS has since announced a competing program with stricter BMI requirements and reimbursement limits.

“It’s a first-come, first-served basis, so individuals like myself who have actually dropped the weight wouldn’t be eligible because I wouldn’t meet the BMI index,” he said. “They will want me to gain my weight back in order to become eligible. I think that’s a bad way of looking at health care coverage here in the state of Ohio.”

Williams, who is not seeking re-election, said he would not personally benefit from the bill’s passage.

“I currently have enough medication to carry myself through the middle of next year, so I won’t benefit from the passage of this bill personally,” he said. “But I think it’s good policy, and we need to do it more often with other prescriptions.”

H.B. 388 has not yet received a committee hearing.