The Biden administration’s lame duck status does not appear to have deterred it from further inflating federal spending. Although federal law specifically prohibits Medicare from covering weight-loss drugs, the outgoing administration has tried to do exactly that – daring its successor to pay for a benefit which could cost tens of billions of dollars, or to incur the wrath of disappointed beneficiaries.
Over the past few years, anti-obesity drugs such as Wegovy or Zepbound have been brought to market and enjoyed surging popularity. They are proven to be effective at helping people lose weight; but this tends to come back if patients stop using them – which is not uncommon, due to associated side-effects. Yet, the average net price of over $5,000 per year is steep, and so the drug industry has lobbied aggressively for insurers and entitlement programs to cover it.
Whereas Congress must generally pay for expansions of appropriations under pay-as-you-go budget rules, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) can add new procedures and services to the Medicare program without identifying offsetting savings or additional revenues. The steady expansion of Medicare benefits has therefore become the most important driver of rising federal spending.
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Chris Pope is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Follow him on Twitter here.
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