{"id":1978198,"date":"2023-07-20T06:11:01","date_gmt":"2023-07-20T10:11:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lawmakers-introduce-bill-to-expand-access-to-weight-loss-drugs\/"},"modified":"2023-07-20T06:17:03","modified_gmt":"2023-07-20T10:17:03","slug":"lawmakers-introduce-bill-to-expand-access-to-weight-loss-drugs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lawmakers-introduce-bill-to-expand-access-to-weight-loss-drugs\/","title":{"rendered":"Bill introduced to increase availability of weight loss medications."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Flawmakers-introduce-bill-to-expand-access-to-weight-loss-drugs%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1978198&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Sens.\u200c Cassidy and \u200cCarper Introduce \u200bTROA to Expand\u2063 Obesity\u200c Treatment\u2064 for Medicare\u2062 Recipients<\/h2>\n<p>Sens.\u200b Bill \u2062Cassidy (R-LA) \u2062and Tom Carper (D-DE), \u2063along with\u200d Reps. Brad\u2063 Wenstrup (R-OH) and\u2064 Raul Ruiz\u2063 (D-CA),\u2062 are introducing the Treat and Reduce Obesity \u2063Act, or TROA, in \u200dboth\u200c chambers of \u2064Congress\u200c on\u200c Thursday, an \u200beffort \u2063to expand\u200c chronic \u200dobesity\u2062 medication and \u2063treatment \u2062to Medicare \u200drecipients.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;There\u2064 is \u200da \u200cclear need \u2063to address obesity,&#8221; Cassidy, the ranking member of the Senate\u200d Health, \u200cEducation,\u2062 Labor,\u2064 and Pensions \u2063Committee,\u2064 said. &#8220;Expanding\u200c Medicare coverage to\u2064 the treatments\u2062 patients\u200c need \u200cenables\u200c them\u2064 to \u200dimprove their \u200bhealth \u2062and \u200bbenefits us all.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3>Social\u2063 Security\u2062 Update:\u2063 Direct Payment \u200cWorth Up \u2062to $4,555 Goes Out to Millions Today<\/h3>\n<p>According \u200cto \u200cthe\u200b bill, \u200dan \u2062estimated\u2063 41%\u2063 of \u2064Americans over\u2062 the age\u2062 of 60\u200c were\u2063 obese \u200din\u2063 2015, \u200band the National Institutes \u2064of Health reported\u2062 that 300,000\u200b deaths \u2062per\u200b year \u200bare\u200d attributable to the obesity \u200bepidemic.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;On average,\u2062 a \u2063Medicare beneficiary \u2064with \u200cobesity\u200c costs \u2062$2,018 \u200d(in \u20622019 \u2063dollars) more than \u2062a \u200bhealthy-weight beneficiary,&#8221; \u200creads \u200cthe bill, with the &#8220;direct\u200d and indirect costs \u2064of obesity&#8221;\u200b being nearly \u2063$428 billion in 2014.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cWith\u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/have-you-noticed-a-lot-more-americans-look-like-a-frightful-hot-mess\/\" title=\"Do you see more Americans looking like a hot mess?\">obesity\u200d rates<\/a> on\u200c the rise in\u2062 our country, we \u200dmust\u200c do\u2062 more\u2064 to combat\u200b this \u200depidemic\u2063 head-on,&#8221; \u200bCarper \u2064said.\u2064 &#8220;Too \u2064many \u200bof those \u200din\u2063 need are \u2064being\u2063 denied\u2064 care \u2062because of the high cost of\u200d medications\u200c or inaccessible treatment options.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>TROA would \u200bextend\u2064 coverage \u2062for intensive \u2062behavioral\u2062 therapy to intensive behavioral therapy \u200bfor \u2064<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/not-just-diet-acupoint-stimulation-effective-in-treating-obesity-heres-why\/\" title=\"Not Just Diet: Acupoint Stimulation Effective in Treating Obesity, Here\u2019s Why\">treating obesity<\/a>\u200b that \u2062can be administered either \u2063by\u2063 a \u2063physician \u2063or by\u200c physician\u2063 referral to \u200ca \u200chospital or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lawmakers-introduce-bill-to-expand-access-to-weight-loss-drugs\/\" title=\"Bill introduced to increase availability of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/alexei-navalny-goes-on-hunger-strike-russian-prison-service-responds\/\" title=\"Alexei Navalny Goes On Hunger Strike, Russian Prison Service Responds\">weight loss<\/a> medications.&#8221;>community-based \u200ccounseling program<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The \u2064bill \u2062would also\u2063 expand Medicare Part D coverage to\u200d include drugs\u2063 such as Wegovy, which is\u2063 prescribed on-label\u200b for weight\u2063 loss,\u2063 and Ozempic, \u200cwhich has\u2064 grown\u200c in\u2062 popularity in recent\u200b months as a\u200b weight loss\u2064 drug.<\/p>\n<p>Novo\u200c Nordisk, the maker\u2064 of \u200dboth\u200d Ozempic \u200dand Wegovy, hired\u200c a\u200c lobbying \u2063firm in May\u200d to push for the drugs to\u2063 be included in Medicare coverage\u2064 for\u2063 the purposes\u200d of weight loss\u200d and\u200c obesity management.\u200d Ozempic \u200bis currently only covered\u2063 by Medicare for Type 2\u2063 diabetes treatment, as per \u200bits\u2063 Food\u200c and Drug Administration \u2062approval.<\/p>\n<p>Carper\u200c has \u2064worked with \u200dmultiple stakeholders \u200dsince 2013 to \u200dexpand \u2063obesity medicine\u2063 coverage,\u2064 including \u2063medication and\u200d behavioral\u2062 treatments\u2062 and \u2063preventive \u200ccare.<\/p>\n<p>Recent research published\u200c in \u200cNature Metabolism suggests that obesity changes \u200cthe \u2062way\u200c the\u2062 brain processes \u200bnutrient intake, with\u200b an \u2064imbalance\u200b between\u2063 the gut and\u2064 the brain leading\u200b to\u200c overeating and not feeling full.<\/p>\n<p>Angela Fitch, the \u200bpresident of\u2064 the \u200bObesity Medicine Association, previously\u200c told\u200d the Washington Examiner that obesity \u200dshould be recognized as\u2063 a \u2063disease state and,\u2064 as such, medications \u2063ought\u2062 to\u2062 be covered as \u200ca \u2064standard benefit by \u200chealth insurance,\u2063 including\u200d Medicare.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\">CLICK HERE TO \u2062READ MORE FROM THE \u2062WASHINGTON \u200cEXAMINER<\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cIf \u200cyou ask 10 people \u200bon the\u200d street, \u2018How\u2063 do \u200cyou \u2064treat breast \u2064cancer?\u2019 \u200b&#8230; I \u2063guarantee there\u2019s not \u200cgoing to be one person who says\u2064 you can \u200cjust will \u200dit\u2064 away,&#8221; Fitch\u200b said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cWe \u200dcannot stand idly\u2064 by\u200d while \u200cthis disease\u2063 continues\u200d to claim lives through\u200b related\u2064 illnesses \u2062that are\u2062 preventable and \u2062treatable,&#8221;\u2064 Carper \u2063said. \u200c&#8221;I\u2019m proud of \u200bour bipartisan\u200b and bicameral\u200d legislation to\u2062 open the door\u2064 for Medicare to\u2064 provide Americans with \u200cevery\u200c available treatment and tool for reducing obesity\u2019s \u200cphysical, social, and\u2064 financial costs.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Tom Carper (D-DE), along with Representatives Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) and Raul Ruiz (D-CA), are introducing the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act (TROA) in Congress. This bipartisan effort aims to provide Medicare recipients with expanded access to chronic obesity medication and treatment, recognizing the urgent need to address this issue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1978199,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1978198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1978198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1978198"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1978198\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1978199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1978198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1978198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1978198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}