Roughly one-third of the Department of Veterans Affairs' projected medical budget shortfall in 2025 is due to the costs of new medications, including weight-loss drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound that are increasingly being prescribed for vets.

Discussing a revision of the department's anticipated funding shortfall in 2025 with reporters Monday, VA Under Secretary for Health Dr. Shereef Elnahal said roughly $2 billion of the $6.6 billion requested from Congress is needed for weight-loss drugs known as glucagon-like peptide 1, or GLP-1, agonists, and new medications for illnesses found in veterans, such as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, or MASH, a fatty liver disease.

"Part of the reason we need the funding is that we know the need for new drugs for obesity ... and novel medications for conditions that are more common in veterans," Elnahal said in a call with reporters Monday. "New drugs on the market that will help veterans cost more."