The Biden administration introduced a proposal yesterday to expand Medicare and Medicaid coverage to include popular weight-loss medications like Wegovy and Zepbound. The initiative, led by the Department of Health and Human Services, would classify obesity as a treatable disease to reduce associated health risks including heart disease and diabetes.
Roughly 40% of Americans are considered clinically obese. Weight-loss drugs can reduce weight by as much as 15% to 25% by regulating appetite, signaling to the brain that the body is full, and reducing hunger. The proposed rule could reduce out-of-pocket costs for the drug—which can exceed $1,000 per month—by up to 95% for over 7.4 million Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. The estimated cost to taxpayers is $35B over the next decade.
The rule would not be finalized until after President-elect Donald Trump takes office; his HHS pick, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has criticized the drugmakers, instead seeking to prioritize access to healthy nutrition.
