NHS to pay GPs for prescribing weight‑loss jabs

The NHS will pay GPs £3,000 a year for prescribing the weight‑loss jab Mounjaro and about £1,000 extra for referrals to weight‑loss programmes; current eligibility remains limited, with wider criteria expected next year.

The NHS is introducing payments to general practitioners to speed the national rollout of GLP‑1 weight‑loss injections. Under the plan, GPs will receive an annual payment for prescribing the jab and an additional payment for referring patients into weight‑management programmes. Health officials say the move aims to expand NHS access and reduce private prescribing and unregulated alternatives. The rollout began eight months ago when GPs were first allowed to prescribe these treatments. Key details: - GPs are to receive £3,000 per year for prescribing the weight‑loss jab Mounjaro, with an extra payment of about £1,000 for referrals to weight‑loss programmes. - The NHS began a mass rollout of weight‑loss jabs in England eight months ago, allowing GPs to prescribe them for the first time. - Current NHS eligibility reported in media is a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or higher plus four or more weight‑related health conditions; those criteria are not expected to change immediately under the new payments scheme. - The BBC reports the eligibility criteria are expected to widen next year to include some people with BMI over 35, a change said to add an estimated 220,000 patients to NHS provision. - Media reports say around 1.5 million people in the U.K. are believed to be buying weight‑loss jabs privately, and that a high share of current users are obtaining treatment outside the NHS. Summary: The payments aim to encourage general practices to offer NHS‑funded GLP‑1 injections and to channel patients into supervised care rather than private or unregulated routes. The government has stated access will be based on clinical need, and wider eligibility is due to be introduced next year; further details and timelines are undetermined at this time.