Obesity Care Week 2025 Calls for Action on CMS Proposed Rule to Expand Access to Obesity Treatment
TAMPA, Fla., March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- As Obesity Care Week (OCW) 2025 continues, supporters nationwide are rallying behind the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Proposed Rule, which could expand Medicare Part D coverage to include FDA-approved obesity medications. If finalized, this rule would be a historic milestone in ensuring millions of Americans with obesity have access to the treatment they need.
Currently, Medicare does not cover anti-obesity medications, despite obesity being recognized as a chronic and treatable disease. This outdated policy leaves millions without medically recommended care, limiting their ability to manage their health effectively. Patients and healthcare professionals alike are calling on policymakers to support the CMS Proposed Rule and help close this dangerous gap in obesity treatment.
"Expanding access to obesity care through Medicare is long-overdue," said Tracy Zvenyach, Director of Policy Strategy and Alliances at Obesity Action Coalition (OAC). "Policymakers must recognize that treating obesity isn't just about weight—it's about improving overall health and reducing the burden of chronic diseases."
With OCW in full swing, individuals are encouraged to take action by sending a letter to President Trump, urging him and his administration to support the CMS Proposed Rule. Public momentum continues to grow, with more than 30,000 comments submitted to CMS—an overwhelming majority in favor of expanding access to obesity medications.
OCW is supported by Founding Champions, including the Obesity Action Coalition (OAC), Strategies to Overcome and Prevent (STOP) Obesity Alliance, The Obesity Society (TOS), American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS), and the Obesity Medicine Association (OMA). It is also backed by more than 160 supporting Champion organizations and is sponsored by: Diamond—Eli Lilly and Company; Silver—Novo Nordisk; Bronze—Regeneron; Patron—Amgen, Genentech; Supporter—Boehringer Ingelheim, Boston Scientific, Currax Pharmaceuticals, Prosciento and Rhythm Pharmaceuticals.
Obesity is a disease. It's time to treat it like one. Take action today at ObesityCareWeek.org.
About Obesity Care Week:Launched in 2015, Obesity Care Week (OCW) is a national awareness campaign working to advance a science-based understanding of obesity and promote widespread access to respectful, comprehensive and appropriate care.
View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/obesity-care-week-2025-calls-for-action-on-cms-proposed-rule-to-expand-access-to-obesity-treatment-302393031.html
SOURCE Obesity Action Coalition
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
UnitedHealth Group received multiple bids for Latin American operations
-- UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) is considering several offers for its Latin American operations, according to a Reuters report on Monday. The move comes as the largest U.S. health insurer faces challenges that include the departure of its CEO and an alleged criminal accounting investigation. The insurer has been attempting to leave Latin America since 2022, with the sale of its Banmedica subsidiary becoming more urgent in recent months due to increasing pressures on multiple fronts, the report said. So far, UnitedHealth has reportedly received four preliminary bids for Banmedica, which operates in Colombia and Chile, with an estimated value of about $1 billion. In May, UnitedHealth's shares dropped 25.5%, and the year-to-date decline stands at 40%. The company withdrew from Brazil in 2023 and from Peru in March 2025. It aims to secure around $1 billion for Banmedica's operations in Colombia and Chile. The company anticipates setting a deadline for final proposals as early as July. The bids reportedly include offers from Washington, D.C.-based private equity firm Acon Investments, Sao Paulo-based private equity firm Patria Investments, Texas non-profit health organization Christus Health, and Lima-based healthcare and insurance provider Auna. The report mentioned that Auna is currently in discussions with a financial partner. Related articles UnitedHealth Group received multiple bids for Latin American operations Tesla shares slip after double downgrade amid Trump feud fallout What are the three big things in markets now? RBC weighs in
Medscape
3 hours ago
- Medscape
Part D Cancer Drug Launch Prices Soar Past Inflation
Launch prices for Medicare Part D anticancer drugs have risen sharply since 2012, with a mean increase of $1694 per year. In 2025, the observed prices were 15%-200% higher than expected if the increases were due to inflation alone, but the gap between observed and inflation-adjusted prices narrowed over the study period. METHODOLOGY: The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 introduced price negotiation for Medicare-covered drugs and required manufacturers to pay rebates to Medicare for price increases above inflation. But it did not address the launch prices of new drugs. Anticancer drugs, a protected drug class with mandatory Medicare Part D coverage, may now be especially prone to higher launch prices, in part because the Inflation Reduction Act limits out-of-pocket spending and price increases after market entry. Researchers identified 86 branded, self-administered, molecularly targeted anticancer therapies approved by the FDA between January 2010 and December 2024. Data on drug prices were obtained from the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Formulary and adjusted for inflation. The researchers looked at launch prices by year and compared drug prices in 2025 with those expected if launch prices had increased due to inflation alone since the drug's market entry. TAKEAWAY: The mean monthly launch price increased from $10,954 for drugs first observed in the Medicare formulary in 2012-2014 to $27,891 for drugs first observed in 2023-2025. After adjusting for inflation, the mean launch price increased by $1694 per year ( P < .001). < .001). In 2025, actual drug prices were 14.8%-200.9% higher than expected if they had only kept pace with inflation. Although the gap between observed and inflation-adjusted prices narrowed over time, price increases continued to outpace inflation in 2023 and 2024, despite the Inflation Reduction Act rebate requirement, which will result in rebates to Medicare starting in fall 2025. IN PRACTICE: 'Launch prices for self-administered targeted anticancer therapies have grown precipitously, although no evidence was found of disproportionate increases in recent years. Instead, continued launch price growth for anticancer therapies was observed, consistent with prior research,' the study authors wrote. 'This suggests that companies were already engaging in price maximization for anticancer therapies and continued to do so after the implementation of the [Inflation Reduction Act].' SOURCE: This study, led by Stacie B. Dusetzina, PhD, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee, was published online in JAMA . LIMITATIONS: This study used example indications to determine monthly doses and pricing. Additionally, variations in available price measures were noted over the study period. DISCLOSURES: This study was funded by Arnold Ventures. Several authors reported receiving grants or personal fees and having other ties with various sources.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Collins calls Kennedy's firing of vaccine experts ‘excessive'
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) on Monday called Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s firing of all 17 experts on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) vaccine panel 'excessive,' but she cautioned she needs to learn more about the decision. Kennedy announced the decision in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, catching many GOP lawmakers by surprise. 'I did not know that that had happened,' Collins, a senior member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, said. 'It seems to me to be excessive to ask for everybody's resignations, but I can't judge because I don't know who he's replacing them with.' The Maine senator said the CDC's vaccine advisory committee 'provided helpful guidance to the public on what they should do.' Collins said that Kennedy didn't promise members of the HELP Committee that he would keep the vaccine experts in place. 'I'm just learning about it for the first time,' she said. 'I don't know what the basis was.' Kennedy said in his Wall Street Journal column that he removed the experts so that President Trump could shape the membership of the committee. 'Without removing the current members, the current Trump administration would not have been able to appoint a majority of new members until 2028,' he wrote. Kennedy argued that vaccines have become 'a divisive issue in American politics' and that public confidence is waning' in health agencies, pharmaceutical companies and vaccines themselves. 'That is why, under my direction, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is putting the restoration of public trust above any pro- or antivaccine agenda. The public must know that unbiased science guides the recommendations from our health agencies. This will ensure the American people receive the safest vaccines possible,' he wrote. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) in a statement blasted Kennedy's move as 'reckless.' 'RFK Jr. and the Trump administration are taking a wrecking ball to the programs that keep Americans safe and healthy. Firing experts that have spent their entire lives protecting kids from deadly disease is not reform — it's reckless, radical, and rooted in conspiracy, not science,' Schumer said in a statement. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
