Activists push for Medicaid coverage of Ozempic-style weight loss drugs
According to recent news reports a coalition of activists is working to get weight loss drugs covered in New Mexico under Medicaid. The drugs can be expensive with monthly supplies of the medications can run more than $1,000 for wholesale buyers, according to the government website TrumpRx.gov.
Unfortunately the costs of such a requirement are difficult to discern as current estimates range from $9.5 million to $84.2 million in new Medicaid costs for the state, depending on utilization.
We’d love to see some studies on the costs and benefits of these drugs for taxpayers from the advocates, but more importantly, it would seem that before New Mexico starts adding anti-obesity drugs to Medicaid that it might want to consider banning SNAP from covering soda and candy. Legislation (SB 186) was introduced by Republicans in this legislative session and got precisely nowhere.
Of course, this bill would not prohibit New Mexico SNAP recipients from consuming soda and candy, but it would have prevented taxpayers from paying for them. At minimum this should be implemented before policymakers even consider covering weight loss drugs through Medicaid.