An Easy Win on Obesity for a New Administration

Many years of working on obesity has taught us one thing. Success does not come easily. And yet in this new year, it appears that the new administration in Washington will have an opportunity to claim an easy win on obesity. CMS has a new rule for obesity drugs that can become final in the early days of the Trump administration to make a sensible and simple change to how Medicare and Medicaid programs deal with this disease. More than 70 organizations are urging the administration to claim this win for themselves.

The Focus on Obesity Treatment

Under the new rule, CMS would start regarding the new generation of obesity medicines as exactly what they are – important medicines for treating obesity. Not as tools for inconsequential, short-term weight loss. That simple change will open up an opportunity for better health for people living with obesity who rely on Medicare and Medicaid for their medicines.

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This is not hard. It simply brings CMS up to date with the prevailing medical consensus. Obesity is a complex chronic disease and advanced obesity medicines have an important role to play. The 70+ organizations making this call range from the American Diabetes Association to the YMCA. ConscienHealth is a proud supporter.

Even presidential advisor Elon Musk has spoken up for better access to these medicines. He said that “nothing would do more to improve the health, lifespan and quality of life for Americans.”

In this case, he is right.

Speak Up for an Easy Win

You can lend your voice to bring home this easy win on obesity. Either take the DIY approach and go straight to the docket to file your comments here. Or you can make it super simple and use the OAC Action Center to submit comments here. Just be sure to add your own personal story to the comment box before you hit the send button.

This could be the most important change in obesity policy we will see in our lifetimes. Please step up and be a part of it.

Click here for more on the 70+ organizations calling for this change. For further perspective, click here and here.

White House and Marine One, photograph by Carlos Delgado, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

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January 13, 2025