Photo via White House press office
By AZ Mirror
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced Tuesday it’s reinterpreting federal law to allow Medicare and Medicaid patients access to anti-obesity medications to reduce their weight over the long term.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid’s proposed rule, which the Trump administration would need to finalize before it would take effect, is expected to cost $25 billion for Medicare combined with $11 billion in federal spending and $3.8 billion in state spending for Medicaid coverage throughout the next decade.
CMS is encouraging states to submit comments to the proposed rule explaining when they could implement the Medicaid provision, since that health care program includes cost sharing between federal and state governments.
Medicare is the federal health insurance program for people 65 and older and some younger people with certain disabilities or conditions. Medicaid provides health care to some low-income individuals.
“People with obesity deserve to have affordable access to medical treatment and support, including anti-obesity medications for this disease; just as a person with type two diabetes can access these medications to get healthy,” CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure said on a call with reporters. “That’s why we’re proposing to revise our interpretation of the law and provide coverage of anti-obesity medications for the treatment of obesity.”
