Barely a month into Donald Trump’s second term, it is already clear that multiple four-letter acronyms will be in headlines in the weeks and months ahead.
However, there is at least one policy the Trump administration can enact that would simultaneously curtail costs while making Americans healthier. The best part? It’s wildly popular with both Republicans and Democrats.
While the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a rule to expand Medicare and Medicaid coverage to safe and effective obesity medications last fall, the fate of the proposed policy in the new administration remains unclear.
During the 60-day period when the public and advocacy organizations could write in to express their support, the proposed rule received a massive 24,000 comments, 16,000 of which publicly mentioned obesity. Such high participation during a comment period made it evident that people were energized about the issue, so we conducted a survey to find out just how broad support of the policy was with the average American voter. The results were astounding.
Our survey found that three out of every four Americans believe that people with obesity deserve access to the best available medical treatments, just like those with other chronic conditions such as diabetes or heart disease.
Voters across the aisle were in favor of expanding this access via government health programs. 71 percent of Americans—including a whopping 79 percent of Republicans and 73 percent of Democrats—said they support the Trump administration finalizing the proposed rule that would extend Medicare coverage to obesity medications.
It’s not hard to understand why the American people would favor such a policy. The United States is in the midst of an obesity epidemic—more than 40 percent of adults have obesity and that prevalence is predicted to hit 50 percent in the next five years. Increasing access to incredibly effective medications like Wegovy and Zepbound could help people live healthier lives and avoid related conditions with greater health risks and increased costs.
In addition to medications, there is strong evidence that expanding Medicare coverage for healthcare providers and community-based programs to provide Intensive Behavioral Therapy (IBT) would help Americans with obesity change their eating and exercise habits. Americans strongly support this policy, too—with nearly three in four Americans in favor of the Trump administration or Congress expanding coverage for IBT.
By providing access to obesity treatment early, government programs can save money in the long run by delaying, and in some cases preventing, the onset of obesity-related conditions. According to a USC Schaeffer study, in the first ten years, Medicare coverage of obesity medications would provide savings between $175 billion and $245 billion.
When factoring in the broader social benefits of expanded access to obesity treatment, such as increased economic productivity, the investment clearly pays for itself. The American people have clearly spoken. Now is the time for our government leaders to act in the best interest of public health and the future of the nation by finalizing the proposed CMS rule and ending the obesity crisis.
Christine Gallagher is the Coordinator of the Obesity Care Advocacy Network (OCAN) and the Associate Director for Research and Policy of the STOP Obesity Alliance at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University.
