The Trump Administration has acted with urgency to enact its policy agenda since the president took office in January. But a win for the administration and millions of Americans living with obesity remains unresolved. With the swipe of a pen, President Trump can make Americans healthier, cut significant waste and costs in our health system, and reward innovations that are safe and effective. Americans with obesity want access to obesity medications, and the Trump administration should act now to make it a reality.
Obesity is a complex, chronic condition that impacts more than one in three adults in nearly half of U.S. states, with the highest rates of obesity found in Arkansas, Mississippi, and West Virginia. This issue worsens the further one travels from urban epicenters, with the prevalence of obesity over six times higher in rural America. Obesity is often the root cause of other debilitating chronic conditions, including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers – all of which are leading causes of preventable deaths in the U.S. While obesity impacts millions of Americans, there is an incommensurate level of stigma attached to the chronic disease, in addition to a distinct lack of accessible treatment options in comparison to other equally common chronic conditions. Today, a staggering 96% of American adults with obesity lack access to adequate care for their condition, due in part to higher medical costs and lack of access to treatment options and providers.
While innovative obesity medications have come to market that enable patients to treat and manage their condition, a majority of Americans remain unable to access these treatments. Due to an antiquated rule which excludes agents used for weight loss or weight gain from coverage, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) prohibits prescription drug coverage of obesity medications. The result? Millions of patients left without access to life-changing care.
Despite precedent, CMS has failed for years to provide coverage of obesity medications. Despite the cost of obesity to Americans and the healthcare system, CMS continues to stay the course. And despite what we know about the impact obesity has on the workforce, waste in our health system, and these costs, CMS has yet to catch up with the innovative treatment options available.
The resulting impact to individual Americans and the overall healthcare system is undeniable: medical care costs for American adults living with obesity are $2,505 higher, and the U.S. healthcare system loses almost $173 billion per year from obesity. By 2030, experts estimate that nearly half of all American adults will be living with obesity. What will these numbers look like then?
President Trump and his administration have the opportunity to fix the problem and expand access to safe and effective treatments for obesity for those who need them most and save federal dollars in the process. If finalized, a federal rule will expand coverage of obesity treatments across the U.S. and release these innovative medicines from the grasp of long-established red tape. Estimates show that CMS coverage for these treatments will bring them to the hands of over 7.4 million Americans and generate approximately $175 billion in cost offsets over the first ten years. The vast majority of Americans support this action. Recent survey data shows that over three-quarters of Americans agree that providing access to obesity medications through government health programs would reduce healthcare costs in the long run.
Consider that obesity medications are still not treated like other proven treatments for diabetes, heart disease, and other deadly chronic conditions. Our federal government remains behind the curve and Americans are suffering as a result — but it has an opportunity to make America healthy again. Americans with obesity shouldn’t face barriers to innovative medications due to outdated policy constraints. The Trump administration has an urgent and critical opportunity to satisfy the will of the American people and win the fight against obesity. Americans with obesity need this.
Joseph Nadglowski is president and CEO of the Obesity Action Coalition (OAC).
