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Biden proposes Medicare, Medicaid cover weight-loss drugs
By Brett Rowland, for The Center Square
President Joe Biden plans to require Medicare and Medicaid to offer coverage for weight-loss medications, a move that could cost $36 billion for the two federal programs over the next decade.
The new rule could significantly expand access to anti-obesity drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy. Without insurance coverage, the drugs can cost as much as $1,000 a month.
Lawmakers previously prohibited Medicare from paying for weight loss drugs unless those drugs are used to treat diabetes or manage heart disease risks.
The White House said an estimated 42% of the U.S. population has obesity, which is “a chronic disease, with increased risk of all-cause mortality and multiple related comorbidities such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, some cancers, and more.”
The new proposal would expand access to medications for obesity. The White House said it would help an estimated 3.4 million Americans with Medicare and about 4 million adult Medicaid enrollees.
“This proposal would allow Americans and their doctors to determine the best path forward so they can lead healthier lives, without worrying about their ability to cover these drugs out-of-pocket, and ultimately reduce health care costs to our nation,” according to a White House statement.
Under Biden’s plan, the federal government would pick up most of the costs. That’s about $25 billion for Medicare and $11 billion for Medicaid over the next decade. States would be on the hook for another $3.8 billion.
The proposal requires a 60-day public comment period before it can go into effect, meaning it would be up to the incoming Trump administration to complete it.
Medicare provides federal health insurance for people 65 or older, and some people younger than 65 with certain disabilities or conditions. Medicaid is a joint federal and state program that helps cover medical costs for some low-income people.
U.S. Rep. Wiley Nickel, R-N.C., praised the move.
“Today’s announcement to expand Medicare & Medicaid coverage for anti-obesity medications is a big step forward,” he wrote on X. “I’ve been a strong advocate for this change because it will improve lives and lower health care costs.”
Others have warned about the cost, including U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont.
“The good news is that HHS recognizes that vitally important anti-obesity medicines like Wegovy and Zepbound should be made available to all Americans, regardless of income,” Sanders said in a statement. “The bad news is that unless Medicare demands that Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly substantially reduce the prices for these anti-obesity drugs, Medicare premiums for all seniors would skyrocket.”
He said drug prices must come down.
“If this proposal is to be financially responsible for seniors and taxpayers, Medicare and Medicaid cannot pay up to 10-15 times more for these drugs than they cost in Europe and other major countries,” Sanders said. “We cannot allow Medicare and Medicaid to simply be a cash cow for Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.”
Brett Rowland is an award-winning journalist who has worked as an editor and reporter in newsrooms in Illinois and Wisconsin. He is an investigative reporter for The Center Square.
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Categories: Congress, Health Care
Considering the fact that these “weight loss” drugs can and do cause Thyroid C-Cell Tumors, kidney failure, depression and thoughts of suicide, and pancreatitis among other side effects; they will create patients for life, thus increasing income for the medical/pharmaceutical and funeral industries while simultaneously breaking the backs of taxpayers, Medicare and Medicaid. It’s a bad idea. Hopefully when RFK, Jr is confirmed, he’ll squash it.
I’m adding this reference to my comment. It cites death from using these drugs for weight loss: https://thevaccinereaction.org/2024/12/nurses-death-in-u-k-linked-to-weight-loss-drug-mounjaro/
If people haven’t figured out by now that Big Pharma’s “solutions’ always include a triggered malresponse to create a NEW need for MORE drugs, then they are doomed to die an increasingly expensive and twisted way. The path to less obesity is through the food network, Why we must initiate thousands of new small regenerative farms that produce quality food that tastes better, is better and provides real nutrition. Meanwhile exposing the seed oil problems and pain, the white flour problem and pain and mushy thinking, the gluten problem, while finding ways to have fun and exchange better food., It should be amazing to people that Vermont has not invested in building out our independent food network with equal if not greater zeal than it’s electrification plans.
Those drugs are life time drugs. Bernie is not wrong….for once. Hoping RFK JR will have some say in all this. Stop providing people with solutions to symptoms instead of solutions to the problem!
Though I have political issues with Bernie, I agree with his input. I’m tired supporting financially people who don’t take care of themselves and take the “easy” way. From what I understand this drug comes from Europe and it’s not allowed to sold there because of issues with it. This is really a lazy dumb country we live in for the most part. People can’t/don’t think long term… it’s all about instant gratification.
This is insane. Increase people’s medical insurance premiums to pay for this and push more people towards eating less healthy diets because they can’t afford good food!
And obesity isn’t a “disease “. It’s caused by the consumption of unhealthy foods and too much food while being sedentary. Instead of providing expensive and potentially dangerous meds to deal with obesity, provide a gym membership and a CSA share at a local organic farm!
Here we go again, ” The Sky Is Falling, The Sky Is Falling” again according to Vermont’s barking buffoon, but this time it’s seniors’ Medicare premiums, just more
rhetoric to stay in the limelight …………… we deserve better, what a clown !!
He’s actually right about this. How on earth do you expect seniors on fixed incomes who only get1-2% increases in social security to pay for the ever growing Medicare payment hikes? Any increase in “income “ those on the lower end of social security income receive goes to pay the increased Medicare premiums. Thus they fall even further behind. They already raised Part B to cover the inflated costs of a dubious new expensive Alzheimer’s drug. Now they want to cover weight loss drugs that are priced 10 times higher in the US than Europe. Seems to me the pharmaceutical companies are being fed by taxing the people least able to afford it but who have a government insurance plan easily available to latch onto.
As stated above, these drugs have very serious side effects. It would be a better plan to assist with the cost of a gym membership and a visit with a dietician.
He we go again ! Push medications for what? How about change the underlying cause? Why do we want to continue to give big pHARMA more money to continue to create customers when it would benefit everyone to look at what they are pushing in grocery stores !!
Will they take more of my cola increase from social security and give it to Medicare???? Big pharma needs more money after the COVID KILL SHOT SCANDAL. All you had to do was to convince more fat people to take the vax.
Two discussions here for me.. (1) Bernie needs to retire… he just wants his ultra-liberal voice heard. Bernie please give America a break from your crazy talk.
(2). Americans need to stop taking the easy way out. We ate ourselves into obesity and now too many want to take a pill or shot to fix it… but does it really fix it? Those drugs are to be taken forever, and then what… more food. First, we need to address the crap that the mega food processors are putting on the shelves and we eagerly devour. We are too far away from “eating close to the earth”. Let us hope Kennedy can help in that area, but we need to take responsibility for our own individual habits.
We Americans are very sheltered and overfed which is ironic because we hear so much about food insecurity. Seems like most of us have plenty of food no matter our age. Who is getting all that food being distributed to the insecure and where is it coming from anyways. As well, we do not know enough about these semiglutides and the long-range effects of them. We do know that there are already some known immediate side effects such as vomiting, loss of muscle, paralyzed stomachs etc. I do not believe there are any long-range studies that have been done on these drugs.
The real story here is “big pharma uses Biden to cover cost of drugs…. think Covid jabs”. Billions made by big pharm at the expense of humanity. Eat a apple, drink some water, take a walk, eat another apple if you need it. We owe our good health to our personal care and keeping of it and not to some pill or shot.
Maybe use the $35,000,000,000 to provide healthy foods or behavioral counseling to those same folks instead?
From the right, I agree with Senator Sanders … regardless of the cost.