Summary
The Biden administration proposed requiring Medicare and Medicaid to cover weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, reclassifying obesity as a chronic disease to expand access for millions.
This would reduce out-of-pocket costs, but federal spending could rise by $36 billion over a decade.
Critics, like Sen. Bernie Sanders, warn high drug prices could strain the system, while experts argue reduced obesity-related complications may lower long-term healthcare costs.
The plan faces a 60-day comment period, leaving its implementation uncertain under the incoming Trump administration.
Anecdotally yes, from those I’ve known who have taken it. That’s why lifestyle change is really the only way to genuinely lose weight and keep it off
the thing is maintaining weight is one thing, while running at a massive deficit to lose weight is much, much harder.
with these weight loss drugs, the deficit is basically going to happen whether you like it or not because you can’t eat.
when you come off of it, you’re going to have to eat less than you did when you put the weight on, but you basically get to skip the difficulty of running at a huge deficit for months in order to lose it.
Yeah, that’s what kinda “ruins” it for me. I mean, I’m not obese, just overweight, but it still sounds like a miracle drug
I’m hoping that one day we can just add something to high-calorie food that simply cancels out any weight gain that would result from eating it. lol. That’d be pretty sweet!
I mean insoluble fiber will just straight up make you feel more full. I have friends who take a capsule of psillium husk with every meal. I use it for gut issues in the form of a drink mix, but it definitely makes me feel full, which isn’t helpful since I have an eating disorder and need to eat more 😅
The drug is great for folks who need to go from 300 to 200lbs. But 200 to 160 is whatever. People using it to stay slim is, I mean it can work but it’s a huge deal for folks who are so overweight it causes a loop. You get depressed or stressed, you eat away the pain, you get fat. Then even if you fix your life you’re still fat and now that causes the stress and depression.
It’s so much easier maintaining than it is dieting for weight loss. Don’t let the possible weight gain afterwards deter you from trying it out if you think it may be useful. You just feel so much better with all the excess weight off and you’ll find it’s a bit easier to be motivated for change.