Obesity Action Coalition began its end of year push to secure additional cosponsors for the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act (TROA) in November. Since Thanksgiving, we have picked up 24 additional cosponsors in the House bringing the total to 125, and one in the Senate bringing the total to 17. An important part of this push is to secure support from key Representatives who have cosponsored TROA in past years but have not signed on in support this year. To date, OAC has met with 37 of these Representatives, 13 of which have signed on as a TROA cosponsor since our meeting with them! Thank you to Representatives Adams (NC-12), Bacon (NE-2), Cicilline (RI-1), Craig (MN-2), DesJarlais (TN-4), Gibbs (OH-7), Krishnamoorthi (IL-8), Jayapal (WA-7), Johnson (TX-30), McKinley (WV-1), Moulton (MA-6), Sires (NJ-8), and Thompson (PA-15) for your continued support of this important legislation!
December 20, 2022 will mark the 10 YEAR anniversary of the first TROA bill that was introduced. That’s 10 years of patients being denied the treatment they need; 10 years of paying out of pocket for a disease while other diseases have multiple treatment options covered by insurance; 10 years of needlessly waiting while health worsens. As the rates of obesity continue to increase rapidly, we need our leaders in Washington to prioritize obesity care by ensuring that proven treatment methods are covered by insurance and that people with obesity are treated the same as everyone else when it comes to their journey to health. The time to act is now! OAC will continue to fight for TROA until comprehensive obesity coverage becomes a reality… ten years has already been too long.
Please stay tuned for updates in the coming weeks!