Trump administration drops Biden plan for Medicare to cover weight-loss drugs

Trump admin won't cover Ozempic for Medicaid, Medicare patients

The Trump administration announced it wouldnot extend Medicare Part D or Medicaid coverage to popular weight loss drugs like Ozempic. The move reverses efforts by the previous administration to classify obesity as a disease eligible for coverage. An October 2024 Congressional Budget Office report estimated that covering such medications would cost $35 billion from 2026 to 2034. The report also estimated relatively small savings from improved he…

Medicare Won’t Expand Coverage of Anti-Obesity Drugs

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on April 4 that it would not start covering anti-obesity drugs for its beneficiaries. This decision was reflected in a final ruling, released the same day, that sought to modernize and improve Medicare Advantage, Medicare Prescription Drug Benefits (Part D), Medicare cost plans, and Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly. It stated that it did not intend to finalize Part D co…

The Trump administration revoked a Biden-era initiative for Medicare and Medicaid to cover anti-obesity drugs. The decision was announced as part of a 438-page regulation, updating the programs that cover the beneficiaries’ medications. Read more]]>

Trump administration abandons expanded access to anti-obesity drugs

The Trump administration has dropped a Biden-era proposal to expand coverage of costly anti-obesity drugs to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.

Medicare won't cover anti-obesity GLP-1 drugs as Biden admin proposed

(The Hill) – The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) announced Friday it will not be finalizing a rule proposed by the Biden administration that would have allowed Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries access to anti-obesity drugs such as the highly in-demand GLP-1 medications. In November last year, the Biden administration proposed a new rule that would allow drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound to be covered by Medicare and Medicaid, expanding ac…

Trump reverses Biden decision to cover weight loss drugs under Medicare and Medicaid

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will not cover drugs when exclusively used for weight loss, like Ozempic or Wegovy, the Trump administration announced. The Biden administration previously put forward a rule aimed at reinterpreting a statute that prevented the federal government from covering drugs “when used for weight loss,” as opposed to treating diabetes. But the Trump administration believes finalizing such a proposal “is not ap…