Trump admin won't let Medicare cover anti-obesity drugs

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Axios

11 hours ago


The Trump administration on Friday scrapped a Biden administration proposal to have Medicare cover anti-obesity drugs, including GLP-1s.

Why it matters: The decision sidelines a politically popular idea that had big implications for the program's finances.

Driving the news: A Medicare payment rule issued Friday would maintain a long-standing prohibition on covering drugs for weight loss.

The Biden administration argued that reinterpreting the existing policy would have made the drugs more accessible to millions of Americans and potentially lower the prevalence of obesity-related illnesses.

Medicare administrators may revisit the policy in the future, according to a fact sheet on the rule.

Catch up quick: Requiring Medicare and Medicaid to cover GLP-1s like Wegovy for weight loss would have cost the government nearly $40 billion over 10 years.

Medicare currently covers the drugs to treat diabetes and heart disease.

In nearly 25,000 comments to CMS on the policy, many individuals described their own positive experiences with the drugs. But insurers urged CMS not to finalize the change.

Read more: https://www.axios.com/2025/04/04/trump-medicare-weight-loss-drugs-plan-scrapped

[truthisfreedom]

1. I saw a doctor in a Mayo Clinic emergency room on Saturday

I told him I was on Wegovy and had lost over 30 lbs in 5 months. He congratulated me for being on one of the first miracle drugs he’d seen in years. Naturally this administration won’t allow it. It will take profits away from American pharmaceutical companies that treat symptoms of obesity instead of treating the cause. We can’t have people getting well in this country. How will big pharma make money?

[NJCher]

2. Not only that

But sales of junk food are down—significantly enough that there have been numerous articles about it, several of them cited here.

In addition, these drugs can lessen the urge to drink—and this is with micro dosing!

[Hugin]

3. I was wondering what was going on.

I know someone who is on Medicaid and they were talking about not getting their medications.

[CountAllVotes]

7. I am on Medicare/Medi-Cal

Last edited Sat Apr 5, 2025, 11:40 AM - Edit history (1)

My RX is "no longer available' I have been advised.

Too bad. Too bad. Yeah right, too bad indeed!

Seems I have no recourse at all!

[no_hypocrisy]

4. It seems to me that it would be more expensive for Medicare to pay for

obesity, heart disease, diabetes, etc. than to have it pay for Ozempic, etc.

Here's the thing: a lot of women inadvertently gain weight around and after menopause. Presenting myself as Exhibit One. My GYN told me it's hormonal and it's hard to lose the new weight.

I'm now seeing a cardiologist, an endocrinologist, and leg vein doctors because of the weight. And for now, Medicare is paying for it all. The program would save a boatload of $$ if I could drop my weight, drop my blood pressure, and drop my blood sugar by using a weight-loss pharmaceutical.

[milestogo]

5. But he is still taking them, I'll bet.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

6. Of course he is....At OUR expense!

[republianmushroom]

8. Fat dies quicker, .