Medicare Archives

A landmark shift in the American medical landscape is underway as millions of Medicare beneficiaries suffering from obesity and heart conditions may soon have access to a highly effective weight-loss drug, according to a recent study. This development is a result of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy for reducing stroke and heart attack risk in overweight or obese adults without diabetes. The FDA's green light potentially paves the way for approximately a quarter of Medicare beneficiaries who are overweight or obese to avail of this weight-loss medication. Notably, Medicare regulations currently prohibit the coverage of drugs solely for weight loss. The study, published by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), estimates that about 7% of Medi...

New obesity drugs are showing promising results in helping some people lose weight, but the injections remain out of reach for millions of older Americans because Medicare is prohibited from covering such drugs. A broad and growing bipartisan coalition of drugmakers and lawmakers is gearing up to push for change next year. As obesity rates rise among older adults, some lawmakers say the United States cannot afford to maintain a decades-old law that prevents Medicare from paying for new weight-loss drugs, including Wegovy and Zepbound. Prevents from doing. But research shows that the upfront cost of covering those drugs is so high that it could deplete Medicare's already shaky bank account. The Food and Drug Administration has in recent years approved a new class of weekly injections ...

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Increased Access to Weight-Loss Medication for Medicare Beneficiaries

Medicare Introduce New Weight Loss Drug Including Wegovy and Zepbound