Thanks to the hard work of advocates, last year the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act (TROA) gained impressive momentum. This is a crucial piece of legislation that, if passed, would help millions more Americans obtain life-changing obesity care.
TROA aims to give Medicare beneficiaries expanded access to meaningful obesity treatment tools such as FDA-approved medications and behavior counseling. It can also be influential to other types of insurance plans who often model their coverage off of Medicare.
TROA: Where We Are Now
As of now, 170 members of Congress have signed-on to support this legislation. Way to go, advocates!
Now we are waiting for results of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) score that Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) requested in October. This score will give a cost estimate to show the likely effects of TROA on the federal budget. We are anticipating that the CBO score will prove TROA’s cost-effectiveness and encourage more legislators to add their support.
The 2019-2020 Congressional Session is still underway, so TROA still has time to pick up. That’s where you come in! We need more help from advocates to push it past the finish line.