Millions of Americans suffer from obesity. They are blamed for their weight; constantly being told they are not making good decisions. From friends and family to their own health care providers, they experience discrimination and bias from all sides. Many have searched high and low for affordable options and treatments to help manage what the medical community knows is a disease. After finally finding providers who wanted to help, they find the cost of treatment was simply out of reach.
We must put an end to the stigma and treat obesity as the complex and treatable disease that it is. Obesity was declared an epidemic by the CDC in 1999 and is now one of our most pressing public health concerns.
Obesity disproportionately impacts communities of color who already face systemic inequities in health care, and higher rates of obesity put communities of color at a greater risk for other serious chronic diseases. Data shows that 42% of Americans are living with obesity, and it is particularly harrowing for communities of color: nearly half of all Black Americans suffer from the disease, including 60% of all Black women.
The CDC also warns that obesity dramatically increases risks of heart disease, strokes, diabetes and even cancer. A study by the Joint Economic Committee found that obesity significantly reduces the lifespan of those who suffer from it – and communities of color disproportionately suffer from it. For example, Black Americans are 77% more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes compared to their white counterparts.
Obesity is a costly epidemic – economically, emotionally, and physically – yet despite the conclusive evidence that obesity is a treatable disease, Medicaid and Medicare do not cover safe, FDA-approved anti-obesity medications. Until our government recognizes obesity as the life-threatening disease that it is, millions will continue to suffer needlessly.
New medicines like Ozempic and Wegovy, medically called Glucagon-like peptide 1 or GLP-1’s, have demonstrated a remarkable ability to combat obesity and – equally importantly – cut the serious cardiovascular events by 20%. These medicines provide a game changing opportunity to successfully combat obesity like never before – but only if every community is able to access these life saving drugs. If Medicare, Medicaid and other providers refuse to provide coverage for these prescriptions then the only people who will be able to benefit from these scientific breakthroughs will be people who can afford to pay out of pocket.
Our laws and regulations must be driven by science, including recognizing, and treating obesity as a disease. Successful obesity treatment, including anti-obesity medications (AOMs) like GLP-1’s, are an important component in fighting this disease and helping to reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis, and other complications. We need our congressional leaders to work with the administration on coverage policy updates that will help the millions of Americans who need access to lifesaving care by making these medications available through Medicare Part D.
Solving systemic racial inequity in our health care system will require comprehensive action, but outdated policies barring access to affordable obesity care further exacerbate health disparities and perpetuate inequality. A smart first step into actually helping improve health care outcomes in the Black community starts with treating obesity like the disease the medical community knows it is.
This article was originally published by the Nevada Current, which like the Alaska Beacon is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.