Medicaid
Covered with requirementsWhat you need to qualify
- Age 18 and older
- BMI of 27 or higher
- A1C no higher than 6.5%
- Established cardiovascular disease (prior_stroke_ischemic, prior_stroke_hemorrhagic, prior_MI, symptomatic_carotid_artery_disease, symptomatic_coronary_artery_disease, and symptomatic_PAD)
- On guideline-directed medical therapy (antiplatelet_therapy, antihypertensive_therapy, and lipid_lowering_therapy)
- Not being used to treat type 1 diabetes
Qualification pathways
You can qualify through any one of these.
Initial approval: CV risk reduction in overweight/obesity without diabetes
All of:
- BMI >= 27 kg/m2
- Age >= 18 years
- No diabetes and A1C <= 6.5% (patients with T2DM or A1C >6.5 referred to GLP-1 diabetes policy 27.17.00)
- Established cardiovascular disease with at least one qualifying event
- Concurrent use of at least one secondary prevention medication (antiplatelet, antihypertensive, or lipid-lowering therapy) unless contraindicated or not tolerated
- Semaglutide will not be used in combination with another GLP-1 receptor agonist or DPP4 inhibitor
Plus any one of:
- Prior ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke
- Prior myocardial infarction (MI)
- Symptomatic carotid artery disease (moderate-severe stenosis >50%, revascularization of internal carotid artery, or TIA with focal neurological dysfunction or transient monocular blindness)
- Symptomatic coronary artery disease (coronary stenosis >=50%, symptomatic angina pectoris, or prior coronary revascularization)
- Symptomatic peripheral arterial disease (intermittent claudication with ABI <0.85 at rest, peripheral arterial revascularization, or amputation due to atherosclerotic disease)
Reauthorization: CV risk reduction
All of:
- Member has received previous authorization approval OR has been established on therapy from another health plan (excludes samples, patient assistance programs, or coupons)
- Patient continues to meet initial criteria 2-6 (age, no T2DM/A1C >6.5%, established CV disease, concurrent secondary prevention medication, no GLP-1/DPP4 combination)
Documentation to bring
- Baseline BMI documentation (>= 27 kg/m2)
- Documentation confirming no diabetes diagnosis and A1C <= 6.5%
- Documentation of qualifying established CV event (prior stroke, MI, symptomatic carotid artery disease, symptomatic CAD, or symptomatic PAD with supporting evidence)
- Documentation of concurrent secondary prevention medication use (antiplatelet, antihypertensive, or lipid-lowering therapy) OR documented contraindication/intolerance to all three classes
- Confirmation that semaglutide will not be used with another GLP-1 receptor agonist or DPP4 inhibitor
Quantity limits
- 0.25 mg/0.5 mL, 0.5 mg/0.5 mL, 1 mg/0.5 mL, 1.7 mg/0.75 mL — 4 pens per 28 days (1 box of 4 pens) — Initial PA
- 2.4 mg/0.75 mL — 4 pens per 28 days (1 box of 4 pens) — Renewal PA
- 1.5 mg tablet, 4 mg tablet, 9 mg tablet, 25 mg tablet — 1 tablet per day
Approval and renewal
- Initial approval: 6 months
- Renewal: every 12 months
- To renew, the plan looks for Patient must continue to meet criteria 2-6 from initial approval (age >=18, no T2DM/A1C >6.5%, established CV disease, concurrent secondary prevention medication, no combination with GLP-1 or DPP4 inhibitor). Note: BMI criterion (>=27) is explicitly NOT re-checked at reauthorization per version AA-2 change history.
Not covered when
- Patients with T2DM or A1C > 6.5% are excluded (referred to GLP-1 diabetes policy 27.17.00)
- Concurrent use with another GLP-1 receptor agonist is excluded
- Concurrent use with a DPP4 inhibitor is excluded
Policy note: This is an Apple Health (Washington State Medicaid) policy. The policy explicitly references WAC 182-530-2100 and other state regulatory authority. Qualifying CV events include detailed sub-criteria: carotid artery stenosis requires occlusion >50% or revascularization or TIA with focal deficits; CAD requires stenosis >=50% or symptomatic angina or revascularization; PAD requires claudication with ABI <0.85 or revascularization or amputation due to atherosclerotic disease. GDMT requirement allows any ONE of three medication classes (antiplatelet, antihypertensive, lipid-lowering) unless all are contraindicated or not tolerated. Per version history (AA-3, effective 12/1/2025), lifestyle requirements were removed. Per version history (AA-2, effective 5/1/2025), reauthorization no longer requires re-verification of BMI. Wegovy tablet (oral semaglutide) added in version AA-4 (effective 2/1/2026) — tablet formulation only applies to CV risk reduction indication, not MASH.
Policy effective February 1, 2026 · verified June 4, 2026 · source: semaglutide.pdf