Weight-loss drugs could set up clash between RFK Jr and aides

As a doctor in weight management, Mollie Cecil directly saw how the latest weight loss would help patients.

She also knows from personal experience. One year later, one year later, West Virginia doctors lost 40 pounds. Her cholesterol and arthritis have been improved, and she has become more active with young children.

“I felt like a new person on them,” she said.

However, she is worried about the same obstacles that many patients are facing -she loses insurance compensation -she taped the drug as a precautionary measure.

She turned out to be right. Dr. Cecil later learned her new non -profit insurance plan I couldn’t afford to cover the cost of medicine.

She gradually regained most of her lost weight.

Dr. Cecil said that the latest-class weight loss, also known as the GLP-1 agonist, is the “the most powerful weight loss drug we had so far.”

“But when I can’t get them [my patients]As a doctor who really cares for people, she just feels helpless, “she said.

In many cases, new class drugs that are not covered by private insurance can cost $ 1,000 (£ 809) per month on average. Federal Law prohibits covering drugs when medical care is used Weight loss is usually covered when used to treat diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Only 13 states provide compensation under Medicade for weight loss.

In order to make them easier to access, President Joe Biden recently suggested that Medicare and Medicade covered them, but are now left to President Donald Trump’s new administration.

The weight loss drug policy is to select Trump for Trump’s health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Mefmet Oz, chosen by Trump’s leads to lead the services of Medicade and Medicade. However, this can be a potential collision. Kennedy is a critic of the voice loss, and Oz is an enthusiastic defender.

The Trump administration did not respond to the comments on how to handle the medicido -medical medicare proposal of federal insurance and government insurance -government insurance, aged 65 or older aged 65 and over to cover drugs. 。

Jonathan Chan, a professor of public policy at the University of Duke, said that Trump’s future approach remains unknown, and several inner circles have inconsistent views.

“GLP-1, Ozen Pick, this is a drug that is very high in patients,” said Zhang. “It’s really social media, so it incorporates the life of itself, so the Trump administration or all the governments are facing a big pressure to do something in the near future.”

During the presidential bureaucrat last year, Kennedy worked on the center of his platform in a trend of obesity. According to the US Disease Control Prevention Center, more than 100 million people in the United States are obese.

After dropping out of Trump and supporting, Kennedy started his “Make America Healthy” initiative to reduce obesity by eliminating super -treated foods and additives, especially among the more controversial ideas. I did.

However, at the age of 71, he said frankly about weight loss and told Fox News in October: [weight-loss medications] We’re very stupid and crazy about drugs, so we’re American. “

“If you just gave three men in our country, women, children’s delicious foods, and three meals in a day, you could solve the trend of obesity and diabetes overnight,” Kennedy added. 。

Immediately after Trump selected Kennedy and selected Kennedy to lead the Ministry of Health and Welfare (HHS), he was a former TV program host and surgeon Oz, and the center of HHS Medicare and Medicade Center (CMS). We announced that we will lead. Manage government health insurance.

As a TV program host, Oz has recently promoted various weight loss drugs, including GLP-1 drugs.

“For those who want to lose a few pounds, Ozen Picks and other Semugurtide drugs can help great help,” OZ posted on Instagram in 2023. “”

Experts have said that both HHS and CMS leaders are likely to be involved in the decisions on Medicate and Medicade’s drug compensation.

Oz and Kennedy’s spokesmus did not respond to comments on how to process policy decisions. Neither of them has been confirmed by their appointment yet.

Benjamin Rome, a health policy researcher at Harvard University School of Medicine, means that the high -priced GLP -1 drug has not been able to create a cheap imitation version.

The company generally states that it is necessary to determine whether to procure insurance premiums and whether to completely deduct the GLP-1 compensation.

Many have decided not to cover them. DR CECIL said that other people had lost their weight and reached a body trout index (BMI), which was less than 30 obesity.

When Dr. Cecil used his previous insurance to use GLP-1, she said she would not allow her to lose weight so that she would not exceed the BMI’s excitement.

“They will cut the coverage, saying,” Well, you don’t need it anymore. You have lost weight. ” But, of course, the reason they lost weight is for medicine, “she said.

Too fast the anti -fertilizer can cause an unpleasant withdrawal effect, and many people can regain weight.

Government insurance faces a similar cost struggle for covering new weight loss drugs.

“I have a lot of interest in doing so in order for patients who need these very effective drugs to be able to use these very effective drugs more. Is a huge number of qualifications and very high prices, “said Dr. Rome.

Mark Fendrick, director of the University of Michigan, did the rules after the election when the Biden officials issued a rule that demanded that Medicate and Medicade covered the anti -fertilizer. A center for value -based insurance design.

The federal government said last year that it could take about $ 250 billion in Medicare and $ 11 billion for Medicade to provide drugs over the next ten years.

“How do you pay?” Dr. Fendrick asked.

Experts said that the rules of the Biden era had to go through the public comment period before the Trump administration would ultimately decide whether to proceed.

Dr. Cecil said that the government and private insurance companies could hesitate to make such expensive drug bills.

However, she believes that the savings given to millions of American obesity exceed short -term costs.

“Five to 10 years are when we can see a really big payoff, because we started to see some of these more serious and long -term complications.” Said Dr. Cecil.

“Everyone who needed medicine can afford to buy them and if they want to take them, they will change the game considerably.”