Dems demand RFK Jr. preserve Medicare coverage of obesity drugs as Pharma profits face big hit

Democrat senators are begging Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to keep a proposed Biden-era rule pertaining to obesity drugs.

In November, the Biden administration proposed a rule that would have allowed Medicare and Medicaid to cover anti-obesity drugs such as Ozempic.

The Biden administration has proposed a new rule enabling Medicare and Medicaid to cover weight-loss drugs like Ozempic.

If approved, the rule would mean coverage for an additional 3.5 million people on Medicare and 4 million on Medicaid.

— More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) November 26, 2024

The proposed rule was widely criticized for being “a betrayal” of the MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) principle.

This is a Declaration of War against American children and a betrayal of any American who cares about MAHA principles.

Here’s why it matters:

This regulation makes Ozempic the Standard of Care for the 80% of Medicare recipients who are overweight or obese. No incentives for… pic.twitter.com/aQYb27kmvB

— Calley Means (@calleymeans) November 27, 2024

Then, earlier this month, the Trump administration announced that it would not be moving forward with the rule for the time being.

“[The administration] may consider future policy options for AOMs [anti-obesity medications] pending further review of both the potential benefits of these drugs including updated clinical indications, and relevant costs including fiscal impacts on stakeholders such as state Medicaid agencies,” a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services spokesperson told CBS News at the time.

A group of Senate Democrats has since begun calling on RFK to reverse course and finalize the Biden-era rule.

“We urge you to re-issue a rule that would allow Medicare and Medicaid to cover drugs used to treat obesity,” the senators wrote this week in a letter directed at RFK. “The United States faces an indisputable public health crisis. More than 38% of U.S. adults ages 60 and older live with obesity.”

“Diseases associated with obesity, such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer, are the leading causes of preventable death in the U.S. Preventing these health complications will enable patients to improve their health, benefiting families across the country,” they added.

The letter was signed by Sens. Jeff Markey, Amy Klobuchar, Cory Booker, Ben Ray Lujan, and Gary Peters.

“Currently, Medicare is forbidden from, and the majority of state Medicaid programs do not cover medications to treat obesity, such as certain glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonists,” the letter continues. “These limitations mean that millions of Americans are unable to access the medications they need to prevent fatal health complications.”

“As the medical community’s understanding of obesity evolves, scientific discoveries have unlocked new treatments, and the health care system needs to adapt by covering those treatment options. We ask that you uphold the belief expressed in your comment to the Committee and allow Americans access to the medication they need,” the letter concludes.

The sending of this letter comes just days after RFK told CBS News that he’s now considering implementing the Biden-era rule with one big catch — a sub-rule saying that only patients who’ve tried every other “intervention” possible to lose weight are eligible:

In CBS interview, RFK Jr. says the administration is considering a framework to have medicaid and medicare cover glp-1 agonists (Ozempic, etc.) if they first try other interventions like glucose monitors and lifestyle/dietary changes.

— Sam Stein (@samstein) April 10, 2025

“Ideally, over the long term, we’d like to see … those drugs available for people after they try other interventions,” he said. “Glucose monitors, for example, which are very, very effective and only cost $80 a month, and they’ve been shown to be extraordinarily effective in helping people lose weight and avoid diabetes. Health regimens — including, particularly, change in diet, but also exercise.”

He also stressed that the biggest obstacle to including drugs such as these with Medicare and Medicaid coverage is the price.

“I think everybody would like to make those drugs available to everybody under Medicaid and Medicare, but the impact on our medical costs would increase dramatically,” he told CBS News. “One of the estimates I saw is that the average employer in this country would end up paying double what they’re paying now for health care costs for their workers.”

RFK also noted that these drugs tend to cost a lot less money in other countries.

“President Trump has ordered us to get, to bring it down to, you know, something around European pricing,” he said.

Senior Staff Writer
[email protected]

V. Saxena is a staff writer for BizPac Review with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.

Latest posts by Vivek Saxena (see all)

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.