Could Biden Administration's Proposal To Cover Weight Loss Drugs Lead To 'Surge in the National Debt'?

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

51% : The White House says the proposed regulation, announced Tuesday, would help 3.4 million Americans with Medicare and nearly 4 million with Medicare.
51% : In a separate analysis, Mr. Pope argued that "given the breadth of interest in weight loss and the high prices of these pathbreaking drugs, the cost of adding weight-loss-drug coverage to Medicare could be enormous."
47% : Those who support allowing Medicare to cover weight loss drugs argue that it would generate savings overall by reducing cancer and other diseases.
46% : Other estimates say the cost would likely be higher: the Congressional Budget Office estimated the federal cost from Medicare alone would be $35 billion from 2026 to 2034.
46% : With the cost of Medicare expected to soon double the total defense budget, the program's skyrocketing costs are what's most responsible for the surge in national debt that's expected in the coming years, he adds.
45% : The Biden administration's proposal estimates that the coverage will cost the federal government nearly $40 billion in the next decade, with Medicare making up $25 billion of the total cost.
41% : Little "insurance justification" exists for expanding Medicare to cover weight loss medication, he argues.
38% : The Biden administration's latest proposal to allow Medicare and Medicaid to cover weight loss drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy could bring expanded coverage for millions of Americans -- and with it, a hefty price tag for taxpayers.
33% : By classifying obesity as a disease, the Biden administration is aiming to get around a decades-old congressional ban barring Medicare from covering weight loss drugs.

*Our bias meter rating uses data science including sentiment analysis, machine learning and our proprietary algorithm for determining biases in news articles. Bias scores are on a scale of -100% to 100% with higher negative scores being more liberal and higher positive scores being more conservative, and 0% being neutral. The rating is an independent analysis and is not affiliated nor sponsored by the news source or any other organization.