Want better coverage for anti-obesity medications?
Advocate for it!
Now!
Today!
It’s not hard or time-consuming!
Link for narrative submission before midnight tonight:
Sample text for submission (but elaborate away)!
The exclusion of FDA-approved anti-obesity medications from Medicare Part D coverage (CMS Part D Manual Chapter 6, Section 30.2.2) limits access to essential treatment for a chronic, relapsing, and treatable disease. Private insurers regularly exclude these medications from their plan design, citing CMS’s refusal to cover them as justification. This affects all patients living with obesity who want and deserve treatment, and disproportionately impacts lower-income and rural patients, worsening health disparities.
Link to submit the clunky (no-time-limits) way:
Sample text for submission:
Box #1: Which agency/agencies promulgated the regulation?
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), under HHS
Box #2: Which title, parts, and/or sections of the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) should be rescinded?
42 C.F.R. § 423.100 – Prohibition on coverage of anti-obesity drugs under Part D
Box #3: What is your name?
This one is all you – I’ve already submitted one under my name!
Box #4: Choose the Type of Rescission
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
Box #5: What is the name of the regulation being rescinded, if applicable?
Medicare Part D Anti-Obesity Drug Coverage Exclusion
Box #6: Please provide a short summary of the justifications for the rescission.
This exclusion denies medically necessary treatment for the disease of obesity. Covering evidence-based medications supports public health, reduces downstream costs, and aligns with chronic disease management principles.
Box #7: Please insert the address of the agency.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
7500 Security Boulevard
Baltimore, MD 21244
Box #8: Please insert the contact information for the agency.
CMS Office of Strategic Operations and Regulatory Affairs
Phone: 202‑690‑7118
Email: regs@cms.hhs.gov
Box #9: What is the background for the regulation being rescinded?
Part D’s exclusion of anit-obesity medications dates back to initial benefit design. Despite FDA approval and clinical necessity, coverage remains prohibited unless prescribed for another condition (e.g., diabetes).
Box #10: Explain the reasons for the rescission.
• Contradicts medical necessity of obesity treatment
• Increases health disparities
• Denies patients access to proven therapies
Box #11: Describe the text of the relevant C.F.R. provisions as it will exist after the rescission.
Remove 42 C.F.R. § 423.100 exclusions; remaining Part 423 provisions intact and renumbered.
Box #12: Please insert the name of the current agency head.
Dr. Mehmet Oz
Box #13: Please insert the title of the agency head.
Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services