Incentive scheme targets Mounjaro as eligibility rules remain tight
GPs in England are to be paid £3,000 a year bonuses to prescribe weight loss drugs.
The government is adding the incentive payments to the GP contract starting in April.
GPs will also get extra money, worth about £1,000 a year, for referring patients to weight loss programmes.
Ministers said it was important that patients who could benefit from weight loss support were able to access it.
But obesity experts warned the scheme would have a limited impact because the drugs were still being tightly restricted on the NHS – and this move would do nothing to widen eligibility.
The incentive payments will only apply to Mounjaro.
The other new generation weight loss drug available on the NHS – Wegovy – is not prescribed by GPs but instead is given by specialist NHS weight loss services.
More than 1 million people are estimated to be using weight loss drugs, given as injections, with nine in 10 paying for them privately.
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Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: “Weight loss drugs can be a real game-changer for those who need them. I’m determined that access should be based on need, not ability to pay.
“Outside the NHS, we’ve seen those who can spare the cash buying privately, and the proliferation of rogue prescribers peddling dangerous unlicensed drugs that are putting patients at risk.
“Investing in general practice will help bring this modern medicine to the many, not just the few, and help shift the focus of the NHS from treatment to prevention.”
Obesity experts said the changes would not significantly expand access because eligibility for NHS prescriptions remains tightly controlled.
The payments form part of updates to the GP contract in England from April.
The scheme focuses specifically on Mounjaro prescriptions issued in general practice.
Nine out of 10 people currently using weight loss injections are paying privately.
The government said the aim was to ensure patients who could benefit from treatment were able to receive it through the NHS rather than turning to private providers.
The move comes amid growing demand for new generation weight loss medications and concerns about unregulated online sales.
Ministers said strengthening support in general practice would help ensure safer access to approved treatments.