Biden Administration Announces Expansion of Medicare and Medicaid to Include Weight Loss Drugs Like Ozempic and Wegovy

The Biden-Harris administration proposed an expansion of Medicare and Medicaid coverage to include anti-obesity medications like Ozempic and Wegovy. The HighWire has reported about harms associated with the diabetes drug Ozempic, which has frequently been prescribed off-label for weight loss. Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer, also has a GLP-1 inhibitor made specifically for weight loss called Wegovy.

A September report described a 640% increase in overdose calls to the Utah poison control center for GLP-1 inhibitors, including Ozempic and Wegovy. Model Lottie Moss urged her podcast listeners to avoid taking the drug after she had serious side effects. Moss received the medication from a friend rather than a doctor and took double the recommended dose. After that, she could not keep water or food down. She also experienced a seizure and said taking the drug was the “worst decision” she had ever made.

Other severe side effects include stomach paralysis, gastrointestinal issues, gall bladder issues, pancreatitis, and suicidal ideation. These lasting side effects have been the basis for a wave of lawsuits against the Danish pharmaceutical company. Eli Lilly is another company that offers weight loss and diabetes drugs similar to Ozempic. Mounjaro is a diabetes drug but is also prescribed off-label for weight loss.

NIH data from 2017-2018 shows that 42.4% of American adults are obese, while a total of 73.1% are overweight or obese. Among children and adolescents aged 2-19, 19.3% are obese and another 16.1% are overweight. 35.4% of all children, including two-year-olds, are overweight or obese.

In the American market, Ozempic and other semaglutide GLP-1 inhibitors cost about $1,000 per month for a prescription, even though it costs the manufacturer only $5 to produce. Some estimates have said the cost will be closer to $1,600 per monthly dose. The Bureau of Labor Statistics report found that the average grocery bill per month is $556.76 in Hawaii for one person. The average for the country is between $238.46 and $434.33.

Fitness expert Jillian Michaels appeared on Fox News with Sean Hannity to discuss the use of semaglutide GLP-1 inhibitors for overweight and obese Americans. She said, “Wouldn’t it be more advantageous for the taxpaying American to take those dollars and give each and every one of those people three organic meals a day and a gym membership, counseling, fitness training, which with that kind of money, you can actually afford? So who is this really benefiting, Americans or the drug companies?”

Hannity pushed back lightly and asked about individuals who don’t have the willpower to eat healthy and exercise. Michaels described the factors that make eating healthy an issue of willpower and suggested a fundamental change regarding the way society consumes and shops for food.

“The reason people don’t have the discipline is because of our environment,” Michaels said. “Our environment is engineered to addict people to these ultra-processed foods and surround us with them. They’re ubiquitous; they’re everywhere. The idea here is not to force people to have superhuman willpower but to clean up the environment so they can function normally and not be addicted to these extremely toxic foods. The American people need help. And that’s what people like RFK are trying to do. They’re trying to give people the support they need in the most advantageous way possible.”

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. agrees with Michaels that the solution is providing healthy meals and encouraging exercise rather than putting overweight Americans on a new pharmaceutical drug. Kennedy said on Fox News with Greg Gutfeld that giving these medications to all overweight and obese Americans would cost $3 trillion a year. “If we spend about one-fifth of that giving good food, three meals a day, to every man, woman, and child in our country, we could solve the obesity and diabetes epidemic overnight for a tiny fraction of the cost. It’s the biggest company in Europe, but they’re not marketing it in Europe. They make this drug in Denmark, but in Denmark, they do not recommend it for diabetes or for obesity; they recommend dietary and behavioral changes.”

Kennedy was named as the next HHS Director by President-elect Trump and has shared that he opposes the use of semaglutide GLP-1 inhibitors for Americans who are overweight or obese. Dr. Mehmet Oz, a famous TV personality, was named the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for the incoming administration. Dr. Oz has promoted and spoken positively about this class of weight loss drugs. As HHS Director, Kennedy will oversee several agencies, including CMS.

Michaels said there is a “continuum of illness” and referred to severe cases in which this medication might be beneficial to certain candidates. However, she cautioned that the intent is to suggest the usage of these drugs for all overweight Americans.

Michaels said, “So if a person is very far down the road on that continuum, if they have chronic kidney disease, if they have heart disease, if they have advanced type 2 diabetes, if they’ve tried everything, if they’re morbidly obese, then obviously in the cost-benefit analysis they would be the appropriate candidate for these drugs and they could be considered a first line of defense. However, that’s not what we’re talking about. We’re talking about utilizing this drug as a first line of defense for human beings as young as six years old. We’re talking about a vast swath of the population, up to 28 million people that they would like to prescribe these drugs to that are simply not candidates.”

The NIH says weight loss medication can be prescribed to individuals with obesity or people who are overweight and have weight-related health problems, including high blood pressure and diabetes. The agency also states, “Weight management medications aren’t for everyone with a high BMI. If you are overweight or have obesity, you might be able to lose weight with a lifestyle program that changes your behaviors and improves your eating and physical activity habits.”