Trump administration decides Medicaid will not cover weight loss drugs to treat obesity

The Trump administration on Friday declared in a filing that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) would not cover weight loss drugs that are used to treat obesity. 

The decision will not impact Medicare's existing coverage for drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro, which can be used for weight loss, when prescribed to treat diabetes, but the federal government will not cover medication prescribed solely to help people lose weight.

A spokesperson for CMS said that the administration felt that moving forward with the Biden administration's proposal to require the centers to cover weight loss drugs to treat obesity was "not appropriate at this time."

"CMS may consider future policy options for [anti-obesity medications] pending further review of both the potential benefits of these drugs including updated clinical indications, and relevant costs including fiscal impacts on stakeholders such as state Medicaid agencies," the spokesperson added in an email to CBS News.

The Biden administration had wanted the federal government to cover the drugs as part of Medicare's Part D prescription drug benefit, since the medical community largely perceives obesity as a chronic disease.

The decision comes after the Congressional Budget Office found last year that the expansion to cover the drugs would have cost taxpayers and the federal government up to $35 billion over the next decade, despite its benefits.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.