Navigating GLP-1 Access & Prior Authorizations: Amanda Velazquez, MD
In an interview with AJMC, Amanda Velazquez, MD, director of obesity medicine at Cedars-Sinai's Center for Weight Management and Metabolic Health, shares her views on how health system formularies might weigh GLP-1 options, why prior authorization and step therapy burden patients and staff, how her team pre-templates responses to automatic denials under Medicare's Bridge program, and telehealth trade-offs. It is one clinician's perspective, not a study.
Why it matters: Relevant to Maryland adults exploring GLP-1 medications for obesity, including Medicare Part D enrollees, and to clinicians and office staff who handle prior authorizations.
A summary of another publisher's reporting, written with AI and checked automatically against the story. The reporting belongs to ajmc.com. October 9, 2026.
