Making America Narrow Again! The outgoing US administration of President Joe Biden wants to make weight-loss medicines available to millions of US citizens through national health insurance. This move would benefit millions of Americans.
“For too many Americans, these important treatments are too expensive and therefore unaffordable,” a US government official said in Washington on Tuesday. He pointed out that 42 percent of American adults are obese.
Under Medicare and Medicaid, drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are largely only available to people who are overweight and have diabetes or heart disease.
Can be taken back by Trump
A US government statement said Biden wants to make these drugs widely available to treat obesity, expanding coverage to nearly 7.5 million elderly and low-income Americans.
More than 60 million people in the United States, most of whom are over age 65, rely on Medicare for coverage. Another 85 million people qualify for assistance through Medicaid, which is aimed at low-income citizens. The question was how efficient the outgoing government’s initiative would be.
Biden’s successor Donald Trump, who will start his second term in office on January 20, wants to significantly reduce government spending. Last week he appointed TV doctor Mehmet Oz to head the CMS health authority, which is responsible for Medicare and Medicaid. Oz will eliminate “waste and fraud” in “our nation’s most expensive government agency,” Trump said during the nomination.
Biden recently spoke about fraud
One of the goals of Biden’s term was to reduce the high cost of prescription drugs in the United States. In July, he called on pharmaceutical companies Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly to lower the prices of diabetes and weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic. Companies must stop “ripping off the American people,” Biden said.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
