Medicare should not treat GLP-1s as just another “lifestyle” drug. They represent a historic advance in treating one of our nation’s most pervasive and expensive chronic conditions.
The Trump administration has yet to decide whether Medicare will cover a revolutionary new class of weight-loss treatments, which include drugs like Zepbound and Wegovy. But a decision could be imminent, according to Dr. Mehmet Oz, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Speaking at an event at the Aspen Institute earlier this month, Oz remarked that “These are market moving discussions,” and that “the best thing to say is, everybody is looking at it… We just got to find the right way to do it.”
At issue is whether these breakthrough medications—known as glucagon-like peptide-1, or GLP-1, inhibitors—are worth their $700 to $800 monthly list price. But the cost of denying seniors access to these remarkable treatments is far higher.
Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.
Medicare Can’t Afford Not To Cover Ozempic
Sally C. Pipes
Medicare should not treat GLP-1s as just another “lifestyle” drug. They represent a historic advance in treating one of our nation’s most pervasive and expensive chronic conditions.
The Trump administration has yet to decide whether Medicare will cover a revolutionary new class of weight-loss treatments, which include drugs like Zepbound and Wegovy. But a decision could be imminent, according to Dr. Mehmet Oz, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Speaking at an event at the Aspen Institute earlier this month, Oz remarked that “These are market moving discussions,” and that “the best thing to say is, everybody is looking at it… We just got to find the right way to do it.”
At issue is whether these breakthrough medications—known as glucagon-like peptide-1, or GLP-1, inhibitors—are worth their $700 to $800 monthly list price. But the cost of denying seniors access to these remarkable treatments is far higher.
Read the op-ed here.
Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.