President Joe Biden proposed a policy last week that would allow Americans on Medicare and Medicaid to access obesity-fighting drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic.
The White House is pitching the regulation as these new drugs are exploding in the health care arena, and which, so far, have been effective and in high demand. Yet like other emerging pharmaceuticals, they are also pricey and out of reach for many. Biden’s proposal to expand access to weight-loss drugs could be a game changer for millions. It would make them far more affordable for the more than 7 million people who receive government benefits, cutting their out-of-pocket expenses by as much as 95%, according to a report by Reuters.
“This would enable more Americans to afford new weight loss medications in the GLP-1 class that have been shown to reduce weight by as much as 20% on average and can help prevent type 2 diabetes but cost as much as $1,000 a month without insurance coverage. The drugs have also been shown in trials to lower the risk of heart attacks and cardiovascular-related death,” Reuters reported last month.
Not a moment too soon, The Fat Nag says. I don’t mean to be a nag, but of course I must. The Nag occasionally occupies this space to wheedle, cajole, plead, and beg my dear readers to get the fat out.
I am thrilled to see people in my personal circles who are dropping the pounds, big-time, thanks to these drugs.
America’s obesity epidemic is spiraling out of control. In 2021, more than 36 million children and adolescents and 172 million adults were overweight or obese.
By 2050, nearly 260 million people in the United States will be overweight or obese, according to a new study published by the medical journal The Lancet. The research predicts that 43.1 million children and adolescents and 213 million adults will be overweight or obese.
“The new forecast would mean hundreds of millions of people in the U.S. could be facing health complications associated with a high body mass index or BMI, including diabetes, cancer, heart problems, breathing issues and mental health challenges,” CNN reports.
Fat is a heavy, life-threatening burden. Between 1999 and 2020, deaths from heart disease that were connected to obesity tripled in the United States, according to the research published last year in the Journal of the American Heart Association. African Americans fare worst, as generations have suffered in the obesity epidemic. Black adults suffer the highest rates of obesity-related heart disease deaths, with the highest percentage of deaths occurring in Black women. Being overweight and obese can also lead to diabetes, stroke and some cancers.
The fat is killing us.
But in America, even fat is political.
The Biden White House is on its way out, and some question whether President-elect Donald Trump will move the regulation forward. It would go into effect in 2026, but only if Trump’s incoming administration backs the expansion.
Yet, as Reuters notes, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s nominee for secretary of health and human services, has argued “that America should tackle obesity through healthy eating, not medicine.” During the 2024 presidential campaign Kennedy teamed up with Trump to “Make America Healthy Again,” and launch a crusade against junk food and pushing for healthy eating. With MAHA, Kennedy declared, “We’re going to become, once again, the healthiest nation on earth.”
Kennedy has attacked the makers of the drug Ozempic. He charges that it is a Band-Aid on the obesity crisis, not a cure, and that the pharmaceutical companies are focused on profits rather than improving health outcomes.
Trump himself is no poster boy for healthy lifestyles. His penchant for fast food is notorious. He has delighted in serving up Big Macs and Kentucky Fried to dignitaries, visitors and hangers-on at the White House and Mar-a-Lago.
Now Trump vows to make government efficiency and cost-cutting a hallmark of his second term. That might not put him in the mood to add billions of federal dollars in new Medicare and Medicaid entitlements.
The Nag will argue that the costs of the disease could outweigh that hefty price tag. Obesity costs the nation’s health care system nearly $173 billion a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
The Nag is all for healthy eating, but we must try everything. We are losing the battle against obesity. We need powerful new weapons in our arsenal if we ever hope to turn around this fatal trend.
I appeal to Trump’s self-interest and remind him that his own girth could use a little tender loving care from a dose of Wegovy.
Mr. Trump, this could be legacy building. If you embrace the expansion of coverage for these lifesaving drugs, you will be known forever at the president who got the fat out.
Dear readers, I am off on a year-end hiatus. Look for my column to return in the new year, with stories to tell. Happy holidays!
Laura Washington is a political commentator and longtime Chicago journalist. Her columns appear in the Tribune each Wednesday. Write to her at LauraLauraWashington@gmail.com.
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