Why Medicare Should Treat Obesity as a Disease

MedCity News May 26, 2023
Richard Frank

Medicare is failing its beneficiaries by not treating obesity as a disease. Just like people with high blood pressure often need to take medications to avoid disease-related complications, people with obesity need access to all appropriate, evidence-based therapies to combat the disease.

Obesity rates among older Americans are sharply rising. By 2030, nearly half of Medicare beneficiaries will have obesity, up from 28% in 2010. Even more concerning, the number of people over the age of 65 with severe obesity (BMI over 40) is expected to double in the twenty-year period from 2010 to 2030.

The increasing prevalence of obesity correlates with increasing healthcare costs. Obesity exacerbates the risk of developing other conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer —...

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