Biden administration unveils plan to cover weight loss meds under Medicare, Medicaid - Arkansas Times

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

58% : Medicaid provides health care to some low-income individuals.
54% : Medicare is the federal health insurance program for people 65 and older and some younger people with certain disabilities or conditions.
53% : Dan Tsai, CMS deputy administrator and director for the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services, said during the call the agency hopes states submit comments in the weeks and months ahead detailing "when states would be required to implement this provision.
51% : "The CBO report didn't include a cost estimate for Medicaid, but noted that weight management drug coverage within that program is optional.
49% : The report explained that Medicare currently covers "some obesity-related services, including screening, behavioral counseling, and bariatric surgery (a procedure performed on the stomach or intestines to induce weight loss).
47% : "The total cost of the program during the next decade that CMS provided on the call for Medicare was somewhat different from a cost estimate the Congressional Budget Office released last month.
45% : "Brooks-LaSure said CMS was reinterpreting the law to view obesity as a chronic condition, which the agency believes provides a pathway for Medicare and Medicaid to cover anti-obesity medications.
43% : The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid's proposed rule, which the Trump administration would need to finalize before it would take effect, is expected to cost $25 billion for Medicare combined with $11 billion in federal spending and $3.8 billion in state spending for Medicaid coverage throughout the next decade.
34% : CMS expects that about 3.4 million people in the Medicare program would become eligible for anti-obesity medication coverage under the proposed rule that would take effect in 2026 if Trump decides to finalize it.
32% : The Biden administration announced Tuesday it's reinterpreting federal law to allow Medicare and Medicaid patients access to anti-obesity medications to reduce their weight over the long term.
30% : "While Medicare does cover anti-obesity medications for recipients with diabetes or cardiovascular disease, CBO wrote, Medicare "is prohibited by law from covering medications for weight management as part of the standard prescription drug benefit.

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