"Outdated Federal Coverage Forces Risky Choices for Weight Loss Medications"
Medicare and Medicaid do not cover weight loss medications like Wegovy due to three-decade-old restrictions reflecting outdated cultural and clinical attitudes toward obesity, despite the emergence of highly effective weight-loss drugs and a shift in understanding obesity as an illness. Efforts to reform these restrictions, such as the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act, have been ongoing, but discussions about cost-benefit considerations and long-term health effects continue as the debate over coverage and access to these medications persists.