(TheLastPatriotNews.com) – The Biden administration is pushing a plan that could hit your pocket harder than intended – covering expensive obesity drugs under Medicare and Medicaid, a proposal that seems to favor Big Pharma rather than focusing on real health solutions.
The proposal includes Medicare and Medicaid coverage for obesity drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic.
Obesity impacts over 40% of Americans, posing several health challenges.
Expanding drug access is framed as essential to addressing this crisis, but at an estimated cost of $35 billion over ten years, taxpayers may bear the brunt.
Coverage would target individuals with a BMI of 30 or higher, allowing approximately 3.5 million Medicare and 4 million Medicaid recipients to qualify for the medications.
The initiative seeks to overturn a longstanding law that bars Medicare from covering weight-loss drugs by reclassifying obesity as a disease worthy of drug treatment, reports ABC27.
A bipartisan group in Congress argues this could curb costs related to obesity-related ailments long-term, but the fiscal impact of covering these drugs remains concerning.
The federal government would largely finance the costs, projecting expenditures of $25 billion for Medicare and $11 billion for Medicaid over a decade.
“For half the price of Ozempic, we could purchase regeneratively raised, organic food for every American, three meals a day and a gym membership, for every obese American,” objected Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s Health Secretary nominee, cited by CNBC.
Experts claim these drugs, which mimic hormones to regulate appetite, could help some users lose up to 25% of their body weight.
However, the steep monthly cost of $1,000 to $1,300 restricts access to wealthier patients, raising questions about equitable distribution across races and demographics.
There’s a 60-day public comment period before any firm decisions, giving the incoming Trump administration room to influence the outcome.
Opponents like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suggest investing in gym memberships and healthier food might produce better health outcomes without lining the pockets of drug manufacturers.
“It’s a good day for anyone who suffers from obesity,” declared the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.
The high stakes of this proposed shift extend beyond health, touching on fiscal responsibility, genuine well-being solutions, and the justifications for such massive economic reallocations.
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