The Biden-Harris administration proposed a new rule Tuesday to cover the cost of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro for millions of Americans.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) initiative would apply to Medicare and Medicaid enrollees with body mass indexes of 30 or higher, and would cost U.S. taxpayers as much as $35 billion over the next decade, according to The Associated Press.
“It’s a good day for anyone who suffers from obesity,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra told the AP. “It’s a game changer for Americans who can’t afford these drugs otherwise.”
A White House press release estimates the proposal would provide access to the obesity drugs to roughly 3.4 million people with Medicare and 4 million with Medicaid, reducing out-of-pocket costs for the pharmaceuticals by as much as 95% for some enrollees. Without insurance, weight-loss drugs can cost as much as $1,000 a month.
The rule could create a rift between potential incoming HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — an outspoken opponent of Ozempic — and members of the pharmaceutical industry, the AP reported. It could also put RFK Jr. at odds with a bipartisan group of congressmen who claim weight-loss drugs would save the government billions on treating chronic ailments connected to obesity.
“There’s a bill right now before Congress that will make it available to everybody who’s overweight, which is 74% of the American population,” RFK Jr. told Fox News anchor Greg Gutfeld in October. “That alone will cost $3 trillion a year. If we spend about one-fifth of that giving good food, three meals a day, to every man, woman and child in our country, we could solve the obesity and diabetes epidemic overnight for a tiny fraction of the cost. So they’re trying to sell this, there’s a huge push to sell this to the American public.”
Weight-loss drugs have been linked to cancer, with Ozempic warning of “possible thyroid tumors, including cancer.” Other potential side effects include pancreatitis, kidney injury and suicidal ideation, as well as a rare form of blindness.
Members of the pharmaceutical industry have already banded together to oppose RFK Jr., with left-leaning health care organization Protect Our Care launching a “Stop RFK War Room.”
“We’re nowhere near conceding he’s going to be the next HHS secretary,” Brad Woodhouse, executive director of Protect Our Care, said during a November organizing call.
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