27,000 lives lost prematurely, nearly $900 million in annual costs to Medicaid, and $30 billion lost due to lower economic activity, work-related disability costs, and higher costs for employers. That’s the physical and fiscal cost of obesity in New York State.
Across the state, just shy of 30 percent of New Yorkers are affected by obesity. Without any change, that number is set to rise to over 42 percent by 2030. And the burden is not felt equally. As someone who works closely with seniors and underserved communities in Brooklyn—through groups like the Stuyvesant Older Adults Club and the Tompkins Park Neighborhood Senior Center—I see firsthand how deeply this issue is rooted in structural barriers, particularly when it comes to healthcare access.
In neighborhoods like mine, and in so many communities of color and lower-income areas across the state, rates of obesity are significantly higher. The data is stark, but behind it are real people—neighbors, family members, elders—struggling with the consequences of a system that makes proven treatments inaccessible.
Fortunately, we have breakthrough treatments available in the form of anti-obesity medications (AOMs) that have been proven to be extremely effective in not only reducing weight but minimizing the risk of obesity-related complications.
Unfortunately, due to existing rules written into the state’s Medicaid program that prohibit the coverage of AOMs for weight loss, these lifesaving medications are not accessible for many of the patients who need them.
While there have been some efforts in the state, including from the Governor’s Administration to expand coverage, primarily for individuals with other conditions like diabetes, these changes wouldn’t go far enough. To maximize the full benefits of AOMs, including improved health and reduced costs, there must be broad Medicaid coverage of the medications without limitations.
Obesity is currently linked to over 230 potentially fatal conditions. These include chronic ailments like diabetes and cardiovascular disease, all the way to multiple forms of cancer. After age, there’s no stronger predictor of death or hospitalization than obesity.
But right now, the way New York’s Medicaid system treats obesity is backwards. A patient on Medicaid with diabetes, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, sleep apnea, and more—all diseases that are directly connected to obesity—can receive the most up-to-date and effective treatment for those conditions, but they can’t for the underlying cause.
As a result, New York State and far too many Medicaid recipients are footing the bill for additional medical costs that more effective treatment of obesity could reduce. The total – a combined almost $3 billion a year treating symptoms instead of what’s causing them.
Alternatively, moving forward with the expansion of coverage for Medicaid recipients promises significant savings. Reducing the rate of obesity by five to 25 percent among adults under age 65 could save the state in the range of $22 billion to $53 billion in medical costs in the first 10 years alone.
The current regulations around Medicaid coverage of AOMs must change. At its core, it’s created a system of the haves and have nots. One that has worsened longstanding health inequities across the state and made it so that the populations hardest hit by obesity have little access to proven treatments.
Expanding coverage is an investment in a healthier future in New York – it’s long past time that it happens.
Written by: Mike Tucker, Brooklyn Community Advocate
Featured image credit: DepositPhotos.com
