KFF November 26, 2024
The Biden administration has proposed to allow Medicare and require Medicaid to cover drugs used to treat obesity by reinterpreting the statutory language that currently prohibits coverage of drugs used for weight loss under Medicare and permits but does not require states to cover these drugs for weight loss under Medicaid. This reinterpretation reflects an evolution in the understanding of obesity as a disease and weight loss as conferring real health benefits in people with obesity rather than being merely for cosmetic purposes. It also comes amidst high and growing demand for and use of a relatively new class of highly effective, but also very expensive, drugs being used to treat obesity, known as GLP-1s.
Under current law, people on...
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