The suggested rule could enable millions of Americans to access new medications; it will also challenge the incoming Trump administration. As one of its final significant policy actions, the Biden administration proposed on Tuesday that Medicare and Medicaid provide coverage for obesity treatments. This move is both costly and likely popular, requiring the Trump administration’s approval to be finalized. The proposal would broaden access to these drugs for millions of Americans currently without coverage. The new obesity medications, such as Wegovy from Novo Nordisk and Zepbound from Eli Lilly, have demonstrated various health benefits, but a law established 20 years ago restricts Medicare from covering “weight loss” drugs. The new proposal avoids that limitation by stating that the medications would be covered for treating obesity and preventing associated conditions. “We don’t want individuals to wait until they develop these additional diseases to receive treatment,” said Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (C.M.S.), highlighting the increasing medical agreement that obesity is a chronic health condition. This classification would also mandate that all state Medicaid programs provide coverage for the drugs. At present, only a small number do. The C.M.S. estimates that approximately 3.4 million additional Medicare patients would qualify for obesity medications, and about four million Medicaid patients would receive coverage, which would cost the programs billions. Medicare primarily serves Americans aged 65 and above, while Medicaid mainly provides coverage for low-income and disabled individuals. We are experiencing difficulty accessing the article content. Please activate JavaScript in your browser settings. We appreciate your patience as we confirm access. If you are currently in Reader mode, please leave that mode and log into your Times account, or subscribe to The Times for full access. We appreciate your patience as we verify your access. Are you already a subscriber? Sign in.. Do you want access to all of The Times? Subscribe.
