As many well know, America has a persistent – and rising – epidemic of obesity. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than one in three American adults in 23 states are obese. Just a decade ago, no state had that high a rate of obesity. Worse, no state has fewer than one in five adults who are obese. These disappointing results indicate that obesity rates continue their unabated upward trend.
As Americans increasingly grow overweight, obesity-related chronic diseases, particularly heart disease and Type 2 diabetes, continue their rise. Up to 90 percent of U.S. adults with Type 2 diabetes are obese or overweight, and obesity contributes up to 50 percent of new Type 2 diabetes cases. These staggering statistics illustrate the lingering and life-threatening consequences of failing to address the obesity epidemic.
Given the undisputable correlation between obesity and Type 2 diabetes, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed a rule that would allow Medicare and Medicaid to authorize beneficiaries to receive GLP-1 class of medications for the treatment of obesity. That proposed rule needs to be enacted.
GLP-1s hold the promise of being the greatest advance in reducing obesity-related ailments. How effective are GLP-1s? In 2023, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) designated them the Breakthrough of the Year, noting “… a new class of therapies is breaking the mold, and there’s a groundswell of hope that they may dent rates of obesity and interlinked chronic diseases.”
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