Allegheny County DHS plans to pay people with addiction to take GLP-1 drugs
Updated
Updated · The Boston Globe · Apr 29
Allegheny County DHS plans to pay people with addiction to take GLP-1 drugs
6 articles · Updated · The Boston Globe · Apr 29
In Pennsylvania, the agency wants philanthropic backing for people with substance use disorder who are at high risk of jail, with more than a third also facing child-welfare investigations.
Officials say GLP-1 medicines such as Ozempic and Wegovy may curb cravings for alcohol, opioids, cocaine and methamphetamine, potentially reducing neglect and helping keep children out of foster care.
The plan builds on a county incentive programme using Sublocade and Vivitrol, as the wider US drug crisis is linked to up to 90% of child-welfare cases.
Could paying parents to take weight-loss drugs be the key to fixing the child welfare crisis?
Beyond curbing cravings, what are the long-term societal and health risks of this new approach?