Op-Ed: Proposed AOM rule is a fiscally responsible way to address obesity epidemic
While running a small business and serving on the Fayetteville City Council, I learned that sound financial management means addressing problems at their source rather than treating symptoms. Whether balancing a city budget or keeping a business profitable, the principle remains: strategic investments today can prevent higher costs tomorrow.
We need to take this approach to our nation’s obesity crisis.
The numbers don’t lie. Obesity and its related conditions are a massive drain on our nation’s economy, costing more than a trillion dollars every year. And obesity rates are continuing to rise. In the next five years, the obesity rate is projected to hit 50 percent of adults. In the next 10 years, excess medical costs will exceed $9 trillion.
This level of spending is preventable. Outdated regulations that restrict Medicare from covering anti-obesity medications (AOMs) to treat obesity have made it impossible to limit costs and effectively treat patients.
To fix these inefficiencies, CMS has proposed a rule to expand Medicare coverage of AOMs and cut spending. President Trump can deliver on his promise to Make America Healthy Again by finalizing this rule.
Under current policy, Medicare pays tens of billions of dollars each year to treat obesity and 200-plus related complications like heart disease, diabetes, and sleep apnea. What it doesn’t do is invest in resources to treat and prevent the underlying risk factor for these conditions: obesity. Just 10 percent of Americans with obesity receive any medical help for their condition, while a mere two percent are treated with AOMs.
Medicare’s treatment of obesity is not just outdated but also illogical. The policy, which dates back to 2003, was written when the school of thought was that 1) obesity resulted from poor choices and 2) lifestyle interventions like diet and exercise were the universal prescription that could cure obesity.
We now know that this isn’t the case. The American Medical Association, alongside others, has correctly classified obesity as a disease caused by many factors, including genetics. It’s clear that, like all other diseases, treatments will vary, and some patients will need medicine like AOMs to lose weight effectively.
Most notably, obesity is the only disease for which Medicare treats symptoms instead of the condition itself. Medicare’s current treatment for obesity is the equivalent of covering the cost of aspirin for a broken arm but then failing to cover the cost of the cast that will allow it to heal correctly.
Expanding AOM coverage would yield a high monetary return on investment. Treating obese patients with AOMs would reduce the number of preventable healthcare interventions and be projected to save the government over $7,000 per beneficiary over 10 years following the rule's enactment.
But this investment would also pay off in other ways. Helping people effectively lose weight and keep it off would empower them to live more independently, secure employment, start businesses, and become more active members of their communities, all of which would strengthen our economy and country.
Obesity’s price tag on our country is steep, but something can be done about it. The solution is right in front of us. President Trump can cut regulatory red tape that drives up healthcare costs and replace it with fiscally responsible rules for the current times.
Bobby Hurst
Fayetteville, NC
Former Vice President – Hurst Annaho Supply
Former Fayetteville City Council member 2007 – 2017
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