How to put America both on a tax and physical regime

Like the Trump administration And his Doge team has aggressively – and rightly so – means to reduce unnecessary and abusive government expenses, they will find a mother’s section of such expenses throughout our federal health programs, especially in Medicare and Medicaid. They range from the massive overloads of business insurers of companies to the diversion of billions of dollars in Medicare to pay the costly and completely unrelated green energy boondogles.

But, as strange as it may seem, there is a specific area with regard to Medicare and Medicaid where we should spend more, no less. More specifically, we must extend the coverage of modern weight loss drugs. This would not only help produce healthier results and save the lives of patients, but also save billions of dollars in long -term.

Bad news first. A report by the Congress Committee in 2024 estimated that, if it is not controlled, obesity in the United States will be responsible for $ 8.2 billions of $ 9.1 billions of additional medical spending over the next ten years. All in all, the obesity epidemic is on the right track to reduce the size of the US economy up to 14 dollars and reduce federal tax revenue by approximately 2.5 billions of dollars. This has an impact not only on our fellow citizens, but also even affects our national security and our military preparation. Nearly two thirds of active troops are now overweight or obese.

In a happy contrast, a study of the Leonard D. Schaeffer Center of the University of Southern California estimated the vast potential economies that could be generated by health insurance and the drug coverage of anti-obesity drugs (AOM). Researchers estimated that coverage of health insurance of weight loss therapies could save up to 1 Billion of dollars in medical costs over ten years. Medicaid would increase this exponentially, given the number of people who could become healthier and more productive throughout their adult life. These savings are possible because obesity is directly linked to some of the most common and costly diseases to treat: heart disease, type 2 diabetes, arthritis and certain cancers.

In 2019-2020, heart disease, the first killer in America for men and women, cost the country over $ 250 billion in medical costs and lost productivity. A study on the use of AOMs by patients with heart disease or artery revealed that the average annual cost per individual by-individual had decreased by $ 7,502. Impressive, it was after taking into account the cost of these drugs. The simple fact of reducing the risk of heart disease by dealing with obesity would improve not only the results for health, but also considerably reduced health spending, a large part of which was born by Medicare and Medicaid.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) – which will soon be led by Dr. Mehmet Oz, a longtime champion of the AOMS – have related a proposal that has bipartite support to extend access to prescribed obesity drugs. The Trump administration would be wise to embrace this change in constructive policy and sensible as part of its Make America Healthy Yard Again program.

The current failure of health insurance to cover Aoms is based on the obsolete perceptions of older weight loss drugs regarding safety problems and their use for cosmetic reasons. Today’s AOMs are drugs that offer real advantages to patients and payers. Ironically, Medicare offers coverage for certain types of weight gain drugs when used for non -Osmetic purposes, but does not give the same support for AOMs which can successfully deal with obesity while simultaneously address the serious diseases that accompany it.

Medicare and Medicaid coverage for AOMs is a necessary and economical approach for an epidemic of our own manufacture. Aoms are not a miracle solution, but when associated with the adoption of a healthier lifestyle and diet, are a critical tool to solve a serious problem on families, the elderly, workers and employers. And, in doing so, the Aoms will seriously help fight against government health expenses outside control and useless.

If the Trump administration chooses to go ahead with the CMS proposal, it would not only help to make America again healthy, but also to make America again economic.