KFF survey estimates 12% of US adults have taken a GLP-1 drug

A KFF Health Tracking Poll published May 10, 2024 reported that 12% of US adults have taken a GLP-1 agonist at some point and that 6% were taking one when the survey was fielded ^[1][2]. The poll ran from April 23 to May 1, 2024 with roughly 1,500 respondents, and the JAMA brief summarizing it cited semaglutide, sold as Ozempic or Wegovy, as an example of the drug class ^[1][2].

The survey question described "a class of prescription drugs used both for weight loss and to treat diabetes or to reduce heart disease risk," naming Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, Zepbound, Rybelsus, Trulicity and semaglutide ^[1].

Use tracked closely with diagnosis. Among adults whose doctor had told them they have diabetes, 43% had tried a GLP-1; the share was 26% for those told they have heart disease and 22% for those told in the past five years that they are overweight or obese ^[1]. By race, 18% of Black adults and 13% of Hispanic adults reported having taken the drugs, compared with 10% of White adults ^[1]. KFF said the shares were similar across gender, income and insurance coverage ^[1].

Reasons for use split. Among people who had taken a GLP-1, 62% said they took it for a long-term condition like diabetes or heart disease — 39% for that reason alone and 23% for both a chronic condition and weight loss. The remaining 38% said weight loss was their only reason ^[1].

Money came up often. Of adults who had used the drugs, 54% said affording them was difficult, including 22% who called it "very difficult" ^[1]. Insurance helped but did not settle the issue: 53% of insured users still reported cost trouble, even though most insured users said their plan covered at least part of the price ^[1].

Age produced the sharpest divide. Eight percent of adults 65 and older had taken a GLP-1 for a chronic condition, while 1% had ever taken one for weight loss — a gap KFF said may reflect Medicare's exclusion of weight-loss drugs ^[1]. Federal law currently bars Medicare from covering prescription drugs prescribed for weight loss. Even so, six in ten adults said Medicare should pay for these drugs when prescribed for weight loss in people who are overweight, a position held by more than half of Democrats, independents and Republicans and unchanged after respondents heard arguments on both sides ^[1].

Familiarity with the drug class grew over the year. Eighty-two percent of adults said they had heard at least a little about these medicines, and 32% said they had heard a lot, up from 19% who said that in July 2023 ^[1]. Awareness was highest among older adults and among people told by a doctor that they have diabetes, heart disease, or are overweight or obese ^[1].

Why it matters for patients

The poll gives a sense of scale. GLP-1 prescriptions are no longer a niche: roughly one in eight adults report having tried one, and about half of that group was still taking a drug at the time of the survey ^[1].

It also shows that cost shapes who stays on treatment. More than half of people with any GLP-1 experience described payment as hard, and having insurance did not remove the strain for many of them ^[1].

Coverage rules matter differently by age. Medicare cannot by law cover these drugs for weight loss, and the poll found very few older adults reporting that use ^[1]. That leaves the decision about whether to cover weight-loss prescriptions with lawmakers rather than the program, while a majority of the public favors changing the rule ^[1].

The findings describe what people say about their own use. Side effects, why some users stop, and long-term health outcomes are not addressed in the poll and have not been reported here ^[1].

What happens next

No specific policy deadlines or company milestones are attached to this poll. KFF notes that Medicare's legal restriction on covering weight-loss prescriptions stays in place, and that public support for lifting it is broad ^[1]. The survey itself is a one-time snapshot of use and views taken in spring 2024 ^[1].