PRESS RELEASE: Doctors for America Statement on CMS Proposed Coverage of Obesity Drugs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Doctors for America
PO Box: 21161
2300 18th St NW Lbby
Washington, DC 20009-9996

November 27, 2024

Doctors for America Statement on CMS Proposed Coverage of Obesity Drugs

Washington, D.C.: Doctors for America’s FDA Task Force is thankful for the Biden Administration’s continued efforts to improve patient access to necessary medicines specifically related to the management of chronic conditions of diabetes and obesity. Unfortunately, the recent proposal that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will cover weight loss medications for obesity fails to address a key consideration that will make this policy proposal feasible in reality: the exorbitant prices of these drugs. 

It is laudable to expand access to these therapies for patients who will benefit – but leaving the manufacturers unchecked co-signs their pricing practices. The American people should not be the ones to foot the bill. We agree with what President Biden and Senator Sanders said in their op-ed earlier this year: it is not morally or fiscally responsible for CMS to foot the bill for these drugs, noting that “[if] half of all Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries who are obese took Wegovy and other weight loss drugs, Medicare and Medicaid could spend $166 billion per year, rivaling what the two federal health programs spent on all retail prescription drugs in 2022.” This decision leaves a stain on the presidency and provides false hope to the patients we serve who cannot afford these therapies. Expanding public coverage of these medicines without reining in their exorbitant prices also ignores the egregious profit margins manufacturers have been making at the expense of the American people. Manufacturing costs for Ozempic and Wegovy range between $5 and $13 per monthly dose while prices range between $968 and $1349. These are now prices that Medicare and Medicaid will bear that would be imposed on all beneficiaries through higher premiums. 

The only option is to hold the pharmaceutical companies accountable for their unfair pricing. Earlier this year, over 250 clinicians from across the country sent a letter to Congress asking legislators to rein in exorbitant prices for novel diabetes and obesity treatments. Doctors for America strongly believes that patients should be able to afford to lead healthier and happier lives. Physicians and other health professionals joined our call to action to end corporate profiteering and protect affordable access for all patients–this announcement fails to hold the manufacturers of these life-saving therapies accountable for their manipulative pricing schemes.  

Read more in our letter to Congress here

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Doctors for America (DFA) mobilizes doctors and medical students to be leaders in putting patients over politics to improve the health of our patients, communities, and nation. DFA is an organization of over 27,000 physician and medical student advocates in all 50 states, representing all areas of specialization. DFA teaches physicians and medical trainees advocacy skills and does advocacy at a state and federal level. Our impact areas focus on access to affordable care, community health and prevention, and health justice and equity. DFA focuses solely on what is best for our patients, not on the business side of medicine. DFA does not accept any funding from pharmaceutical or medical device companies, which uniquely positions DFA as the organization that puts patients over politics and patients over profits. 

Find out more at doctorsforamerica.org and on X @drsforamerica.

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