The Treat and Reduce Obesity Act

Congress must support bipartisan legislation that will ensure Medicare beneficiaries can access safe, effective, and life-saving treatments for obesity.

The Treat and Reduce Obesity Act (TROA) aims to improve access to safe, effective, and life-saving treatments of obesity for Medicare beneficiaries. The bipartisan legislation was re-introduced in 2023 and is currently progressing through the U.S. House and U.S. Senate and has the support of over 130 Members of Congress across both chambers. This legislation will prove critical to supporting the millions of Americans living with this complex, chronic disease.

The Policy Imperative: Improve Access to Obesity Care

THE SITUATION: Obesity is a complex, chronic condition that impacts over 100 million Americans. By 2030, experts estimate that nearly half of all American adults will be living with obesity. Patients living with obesity are at a high risk of developing other conditions such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers, which are leading causes of preventable deaths in the U.S.

THE PROBLEM: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) still prohibits Medicare prescription drug coverage of obesity medications, citing an outdated federal statute that excludes agents used for weight loss or weight gain. Additionally, the National Coverage Determination (NCD) for intensive behavioral therapy (IBT) for obesity is overly restrictive to the types of health professionals and settings of care, significantly limiting and even undermining patient access to comprehensive services.

THE SOLUTION: Congress must pass the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act (TROA) and align Medicare policies with our current understanding of how to effectively treat and care for patients living with obesity in the same way treatments are covered for other chronic diseases.

TROA aims to effectively treat and address obesity in older Americans by:

• Enhancing Medicare beneficiaries’ access to healthcare providers that are best suited to provide intensive behavioral therapy.
• Allowing Medicare Part D to cover FDA-approved obesity medications.

It’s Easy to Advocate!
While we await TROA to be reintroduced in the 119th Congress, visit our Action Center to learn more about the CMS Proposed Rule to expand coverage for obesity medications.