Poll: Americans support Medicare coverage for obesity treatment

WASHINGTON — A new poll commissioned by the Gerontological Society of America has found wide support for requiring Medicare to cover obesity programs. According to the poll, 71% of those surveyed support Medicare investing in programs to reduce the obesity rate. 

 

Among the other findings, 87% of those polled see obesity as a problem in their state and 69% want Medicare to expand coverage to include prescription drugs meant to treat obesity. Additionally, 77% of those polled were unaware that a 2003 law prevents Medicare from covering prescription obesity meds and another 69% didn’t know that the FDA has approved several obesity medications in the ensuing years. 

 

The Gerontological Society of America stressed the need to cover obesity treatments, given its role in chronic conditions and its prevalence among the elderly. 

 

“Public policy and society seldom associate obesity with advanced age,” executive director and CEO James Appleby said. “But recent research has shown that, for those who are over 65 and significantly overweight, the risk of mortality is far greater that it is for younger individuals with excessive body weight. The preponderance of evidence is clear: Obesity at an older age carries with it a plethora of health problems like diabetes and heart disease and the likelihood of premature death.”

 

“Medicare must begin covering medicines to treat obesity because chronic diseases are a primary driver of higher costs in the Medicare system — and, as we know, obesity is a primary cause of chronic disease,” former Health and Human Services secretary Tommy G. Thompson said. “Common sense tells us that if Medicare begins covering these medicines, it would reduce the