CAHC’s President, Joel White, spoke with Inside Health Policy about changes made to the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act of 2023 (TROA), ahead of its expected markup later this week.
The biggest notable change in the amended version, according to Joel White, president of the Council for Affordable Health Coverage, would allow plans to cover long-term weight loss drugs on or after Jan. 1, 2027, which drops one year from the 10-year budget window used to assess the bill’s cost. The change will take some money off the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) score, White said. The original bill started coverage in year two and the amended bill starts coverage in year three.
“What they basically said is, ‘(We’re) only going to cover this (during) seven of the ten years in the budget window versus eight of the ten years,” White told Inside Health Policy.
White told Inside Health Policy the purpose of the limitation could be to make sure a patient is committed to the treatment, since there is some evidence of patients not staying on the medications for the long term.
“I think what they’re trying to do is make sure that (they’re) not getting folks who come in and then stop taking it because you don’t have the long-term benefits associated with reducing obesity, which include reducing all those expensive comorbidities like diabetes and cardiovascular disease. You also don’t get the benefits of reduced hospitalizations and emergency room visits and doctor visits,” White said.
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