( The Hill The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on Friday that they will not finalize a rule proposed by the Biden administration. This rule aimed to provide Medicare and Medicaid recipients with access to weight-loss medicines like the popular GLP-1 drugs.
Last November, the Biden administration proposed a new rule This change would enable medications such as Wegovy and Zepbound to be included under Medicare and Medicaid coverage, thereby increasing accessibility for approximately 3.4 million Medicare beneficiaries and around 4 million Medicaid participants.
However, in an announcement released on Friday, CMS stated that they would not be finalizing this proposed rule, offering no additional information.
Medicare covers GLP-1 medications when they're prescribed for conditions such as diabetes and heart disease; however, laws enacted in 2003 prevent Medicare from covering these drugs for weight management purposes.
Bipartisan efforts in Congress aim to have ant-obesity medications and services covered under a legislation known as the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act (TROA). However, this initiative did not progress in the previous congressional session.
As per the Biden administration’s plan, individuals who are either senior citizens or have lower incomes and a body mass index of 30 or above would have been eligible for coverage of these medications.
The Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has previously condemned GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic, asserting in discussions that these drugs are being aggressively marketed to Americans by international firms that do not distribute them within their own markets.
Kennedy has shifted his focus towards adopting lifestyle modifications as a strategy to tackle obesity, even so. told CNBC Last year, it was acknowledged that GLP-1s "have a role" in managing the condition. Recently confirmed CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz has spoke positively about GLP-1 medications , previously stating on social media that the advantages provided by these medications are "substantial."
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