Biden proposes Medicare and Medicaid cover costly weight-loss drugs for millions of obese Americans

Millions of Americans with obesity would be eligible to have popular weight-loss drugs like Wegovy or Ozempic covered by Medicare or Medicaid under a new rule the Biden administration proposed Tuesday morning.

The costly proposal from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services sets the stage for a potential showdown between the powerful pharmaceutical industry and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an outspoken opponent of the weight-loss drugs who, as President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the agency, could try to block the measure.

While the rule would give millions of people access to weekly injectables that have helped people shed pounds so quickly that some have labeled them miracle drugs, it would cost taxpayers as much as $35 billion over the next decade.