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WASHINGTON (AP) – Millions of obese Americans would be eligible to receive popular weight loss drugs like Wigoby and Ozempic covered by Medicare or Medicaid under new rules proposed by the Biden administration Tuesday morning. It turns out.
A costly proposal from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is the latest in a potential showdown between the powerful pharmaceutical industry and President-elect Donald Trump’s presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who opposes weight-loss drugs. Set the stage. He could lead a government agency that would try to block the measure.
The rule gave millions of people access to the once-weekly injectable drug, which some called a miracle drug because it helped people lose weight so quickly, but it cost taxpayers money. The burden could reach up to $35 billion over the next 10 years.
“This is a good day for people struggling with obesity,” U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in an interview with The Associated Press. “This is a game-changer for Americans who cannot otherwise afford to purchase these drugs.”
A bipartisan coalition of members of Congress is lobbying for the drug to be covered by Medicare, which could save the government from having to spend billions of dollars treating chronic diseases caused by obesity. claims. It’s unclear where President Trump himself stands on the news about weight loss drugs, but his allies and Cabinet nominees who have pledged to cut government spending may balk at the upfront price tag. There is.
Under the proposal, only people considered obese, with a BMI of 30 or higher, would be covered. If you have diabetes or are at risk for stroke or heart disease, you may already have drug coverage through Medicare or Medicaid.
Becerra estimated that an additional 3.5 million people on Medicare and 4 million people on Medicaid could become eligible for drug coverage. But according to research, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services says about 28 million people on Medicaid are considered obese, and many more could be eligible.
Medicare is prohibited from providing the drug under a decades-old law that prohibits government-backed insurance programs from covering weight loss products. But under the Biden administration’s proposed rules, obesity would be recognized as a disease that can be treated with the help of drugs.
The anti-obesity drug market has expanded significantly in recent years, with the Food and Drug Administration approving a new class of weekly injections to treat obesity, such as Novo Nordisk’s Wegoby and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound.
Taking this drug may cause you to lose 15% to 25% of your body weight. The drug mimics the hormones that communicate satiety between the intestines and the brain and regulate appetite when humans eat.
The drug is expensive and is only available to the wealthy, including celebrities who boast about its effectiveness. Wegovy costs $1,300 a month, while Zepbound costs $1,000. Supply is also limited due to drug shortages.
Kennedy, President Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, is subject to Senate confirmation, but he slammed the popularity of drugs. He has said in speeches and on social media that the U.S. should not cover drugs through Medicaid or Medicare. Instead, he supports broader coverage of healthier foods and gym memberships.
“For half the price of an Ozempic, you could buy every American regenerably grown organic food, three meals a day for every obese American, and a gym membership for every obese American,” President Kennedy said at a roundtable earlier this year. told a group of federal lawmakers.
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