Skip to content
Telehealth Graded

Search Telehealth Graded

Use arrow keys or Tab to browse. Enter opens a result. Escape closes search.

Enter a name or topic to search.

State guide

Kansas Medicaid and anti-obesity medications

Published by Telehealth Graded · Updated

The takeaway

Kansas Medicaid covers anti-obesity drugs from a BMI of 27 with one condition and from age 12, and seven older agents need no prior authorization.

Reading the state documents

Most state criteria in this tier exist to say no. Kansas wrote its to say how. Its anti-obesity criteria cover liraglutide, semaglutide and tirzepatide for obesity itself, start adults at a BMI of 30 — or 27 with one weight-related condition — and reach adolescents at the 95th percentile. Seven older weight drugs skip prior authorization entirely.

1
document cited
8
sourced facts
1
primary source

What changed, and what the document says

  1. Seven agents with no authorization required

    Covered

    The older anti-obesity drugs are simply covered. This is the sentence a Kansas reader should take to a prescriber first.

    “Benzphetamine, Diethylpropion, Phendimetrazine, Naltrexone/Bupropion, Orlistat, Phentermine, and Phentermine/Topiramate”

    Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Division of Health Care Finance — Kansas Medical Assistance Program — Initial Approval: September 14, 2007; Revised Dates: August 14, 2024; January 17, 2024; July 19, 2023; October 19, 2022; July 21, 2021; April 21, 2021; January 11, 2017; July 8, 2015; April 8, 2015; January 14, 2015; September 2014; April 9, 2014; October 10, 2012; June 15, 2011; Minor updates 6/1/2025

  2. Said in the document's own footnote

    Covered

    The exemption is explicit rather than inferred from an absence on a list.

    “are covered products in this class, but do not require PA.”

    Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Division of Health Care Finance — Kansas Medical Assistance Program — Initial Approval: September 14, 2007; Revised Dates: August 14, 2024; January 17, 2024; July 19, 2023; October 19, 2022; July 21, 2021; April 21, 2021; January 11, 2017; July 8, 2015; April 8, 2015; January 14, 2015; September 2014; April 9, 2014; October 10, 2012; June 15, 2011; Minor updates 6/1/2025

  3. Twenty-eight weeks for the two newest drugs

    Conditions apply

    Zepbound and Wegovy are carved out of the general renewal rules and get their own approval window, each with its own start date.

    “LENGTH OF APPROVAL: For Zepbound (as of 4/1/24) and Wegovy (as of 6/1/25): 28 weeks”

    Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Division of Health Care Finance — Kansas Medical Assistance Program — Initial Approval: September 14, 2007; Revised Dates: August 14, 2024; January 17, 2024; July 19, 2023; October 19, 2022; July 21, 2021; April 21, 2021; January 11, 2017; July 8, 2015; April 8, 2015; January 14, 2015; September 2014; April 9, 2014; October 10, 2012; June 15, 2011; Minor updates 6/1/2025

  4. Then six months, then a year

    Covered

    Renewals lengthen as you stay on treatment rather than repeating the same short cycle.

    “LENGTH OF RENEWAL APPROVAL: 6 months for the first renewal, then 12 months thereafter”

    Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Division of Health Care Finance — Kansas Medical Assistance Program — Initial Approval: September 14, 2007; Revised Dates: August 14, 2024; January 17, 2024; July 19, 2023; October 19, 2022; July 21, 2021; April 21, 2021; January 11, 2017; July 8, 2015; April 8, 2015; January 14, 2015; September 2014; April 9, 2014; October 10, 2012; June 15, 2011; Minor updates 6/1/2025

  5. Five percent at twelve weeks

    Conditions apply

    The renewal test is a number, and it is measured early. Missing it is how coverage stops.

    “The patient has lost a total of 5% of pretreatment weight at 12 weeks and maintains the 5%”

    Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Division of Health Care Finance — Kansas Medical Assistance Program — Initial Approval: September 14, 2007; Revised Dates: August 14, 2024; January 17, 2024; July 19, 2023; October 19, 2022; July 21, 2021; April 21, 2021; January 11, 2017; July 8, 2015; April 8, 2015; January 14, 2015; September 2014; April 9, 2014; October 10, 2012; June 15, 2011; Minor updates 6/1/2025

  6. A weight and a BMI on the request

    Conditions apply

    The prescriber supplies the baseline, so there is no approval without a recorded starting point.

    “Prescriber must provide the patient's baseline weight and BMI.”

    Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Division of Health Care Finance — Kansas Medical Assistance Program — Initial Approval: September 14, 2007; Revised Dates: August 14, 2024; January 17, 2024; July 19, 2023; October 19, 2022; July 21, 2021; April 21, 2021; January 11, 2017; July 8, 2015; April 8, 2015; January 14, 2015; September 2014; April 9, 2014; October 10, 2012; June 15, 2011; Minor updates 6/1/2025

  7. Diet and behavior alongside the drug

    Conditions apply

    Kansas writes the lifestyle requirement into the treatment plan rather than leaving it to the label.

    “The treatment plan includes comprehensive adjunct lifestyle interventions”

    Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Division of Health Care Finance — Kansas Medical Assistance Program — Initial Approval: September 14, 2007; Revised Dates: August 14, 2024; January 17, 2024; July 19, 2023; October 19, 2022; July 21, 2021; April 21, 2021; January 11, 2017; July 8, 2015; April 8, 2015; January 14, 2015; September 2014; April 9, 2014; October 10, 2012; June 15, 2011; Minor updates 6/1/2025

  8. Samples do not count as history

    Conditions apply

    A detail worth knowing before a step-therapy argument: free starter doses will not satisfy a prior-trial requirement.

    “Professional samples are not allowed to establish patient history of medication usage.”

    Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Division of Health Care Finance — Kansas Medical Assistance Program — Initial Approval: September 14, 2007; Revised Dates: August 14, 2024; January 17, 2024; July 19, 2023; October 19, 2022; July 21, 2021; April 21, 2021; January 11, 2017; July 8, 2015; April 8, 2015; January 14, 2015; September 2014; April 9, 2014; October 10, 2012; June 15, 2011; Minor updates 6/1/2025

Telehealth in Kansas

Some providers pay us a commission when you sign up through our links, at no extra cost to you.

Which of these companies serve Kansas?

Of the 387 companies we grade, 34 publish a list of the states they are licensed in. We checked 251 more and found no such list on any page we read; 102 we have not checked either way.

20 of those lists name Kansas: Gala Health, Care Bare Rx, TelePeptide, Wisp, WePeptideRx, Ways2Well, TeleClinic, Tyde Wellness, ZYP Medical, The Virtual NP, Trimi, Enhance MD, HumeCare+, Rx.com, Mojoon, Peak Wellness, Sprout Health, MEDvidi, Mixx Health & Wellness, and Optimized Health. That is a licensure claim each company makes about itself, not something we checked with a state board.

A published list is a starting point, not a guarantee. If availability decides your choice, ask before you pay and get the answer in writing.

Coverage decides what you pay before cash does. See how state Medicaid programs cover GLP-1s and what a prior-authorization denial turns on.

Sources

Source dates below are the dates printed on the documents.

  • Criteria for Prior Authorization — Anti-Obesity Medications (AOMs) — Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Division of Health Care Finance — Kansas Medical Assistance Program. The document prints an approval date and its whole revision list, not a single date — reproduced in full because the newest line alone would hide that the criteria predate every GLP-1 on them: Initial Approval: September 14, 2007; Revised Dates: August 14, 2024; January 17, 2024; July 19, 2023; October 19, 2022; July 21, 2021; April 21, 2021; January 11, 2017; July 8, 2015; April 8, 2015; January 14, 2015; September 2014; April 9, 2014; October 10, 2012; June 15, 2011; Minor updates 6/1/2025.

Nothing on this page is medical advice, and nobody here is a clinician. Coverage rules change; check the linked document before you rely on it.

Browse 50 other state guides