Forbes December 1, 2024
Last week, the Biden administration proposed that the federal government insurance program for the elderly and disabled, Medicare, cover obesity drugs. Coverage of weight loss products in Medicare has been prohibited by law for more than two decades. The proposed new rule issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would rescind the statutory regulation. The administration’s proposal would also expand coverage of obesity medications in Medicaid, the insurance program for people with limited income and resources. Medicaid is jointly run by the federal government and 50 state agencies. Currently, such products are only covered in a small number of states.
Given what CMS calls a growing consensus among experts that obesity is a chronic disease associated with a...