RFK Jr. vs. Oz sets up clash on weight loss drug coverage

Two of President-elect Trump's top health nominees are on a collision course as the incoming administration faces a crucial decision on coverage for groundbreaking anti-obesity drugs.

Mehmet Oz, Trump’s pick to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, has extolled the benefits of anti-obesity drugs such as Ozempic, pitching them on his show and social media channels.

“In general, I think the amount of good done by these medications by helping people lose weight and improve their cardiovascular system — and it might have long-term benefits in a lot of other areas as well where obesity causes inflammation — is massive,” Oz said in an Instagram video last year.

Oz's potential boss, Health and Human Services secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr., thinks the drugs are a scam, and the solution to obesity is to simply eat better.

“The first line of response should be lifestyle. It should be eating well, making sure that you don’t get obese,” Kennedy told CNBC’s Jim Cramer in an interview Dec. 12.

In an interview with Greg Gutfeld on Fox News in October, Kennedy suggested weight loss drugs were being pushed on to gullible Americans by foreign pharmaceutical companies that wouldn’t even market the drugs in their home countries.

Foreign companies are “counting on selling it to Americans because we’re so stupid and so addicted to drugs,” Kennedy said.

“If we just gave good food, three meals a day, to every man, woman and child in our country, we could solve the obesity and diabetes epidemic overnight,” he added.

Kennedy made similar comments in a post on the social platform X in September.

“When I’m working in the next administration, I will address our sick food system—and the corrupt government agencies—to help make our country healthy again,” he wrote. “In the meantime perhaps we should consider replanting the kitchen garden before sending more money to Denmark.”

Kennedy’s position is also seemingly at odds with newly prominent Trump adviser Elon Musk, who is co-lead of the "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE), a government advisory panel focused on cutting government spending. Musk previously credited Wegovy with helping him lose weight, and recently said the drugs need to be made more widely available.

“Nothing would do more to improve the health, lifespan and quality of life for Americans than making GLP inhibitors super low cost to the public,” Musk posted on X earlier this month. “Nothing else is even close.”

The widely different views among some of Trump's top advisers and Cabinet nominees set up a potential clash within the next administration, which will face a costly decision over whether to allow Medicare to cover the life-changing drugs.

Medicare is currently prohibited from covering weight loss drugs for anything other than treating conditions such as diabetes or heart disease. Currently, only 13 states cover GLP-1 drugs for obesity under Medicaid.

But a new proposal announced by the Biden administration in November would require Medicare and Medicaid coverage of weight loss drugs for people with obesity.

It's a move that could impact coverage for millions of Americans, and would be extremely popular. But it also comes with a price tag in the tens of billions of dollars, as anti-obesity drugs cost upward of $1,000 per month.

Authorizing coverage of anti-obesity medications in Medicare would increase federal spending by about $35 billion from 2026 to 2034, according to the Congressional Budget Office. It would apply to about 3.4 million people with Medicare and 4 million people with Medicaid.

It will be up to the Trump administration to decide whether to move forward with the plan.

“This is kind of a unique situation, in which the Biden administration is proposing this change and basically handing it off to the incoming Trump administration to finalize,” said Juliette Cubanski, deputy director of Medicare policy at the health policy research organization KFF.

“And I think it's an open question at this point as to what the incoming Trump administration will choose to do,” she said.

Cubanski said a final rule would likely be issued sometime in the late spring or early summer of 2025, making it one of the earliest decisions the new administration will face. Comments are due Jan. 27, just a week after the inauguration.

A final decision could likely be made by the White House, and the level of influence Oz or Kennedy will have on the process may depend on how quickly the Republican-controlled Senate will be able to confirm them.

There’s bipartisan interest in Congress in letting Medicare cover anti-obesity medications, but the price tag has been the biggest obstacle. With conservatives in power looking to slash spending next year, letting the administration make the decision would take the pressure off lawmakers.

The CBO’s analysis also did not look at the potential for additional savings that might come if, as widely expected, semaglutide-based drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy are subject to Medicare drug price negotiations next year.

“The cost of expanding coverage has, I think, kind of stymied policymakers in those efforts. So this proposal certainly would take that problem away,” Cubanski said. “They wouldn't have to change the law. This would just be a reinterpretation of the existing statutory language.”

Christine Gallagher, the associate director for research and policy for the STOP Obesity Alliance, said she’s optimistic Trump and his potential health team are aware of the benefits of expanding coverage of anti-obesity drugs.

"These are not weight loss drugs anymore. These are medications that are designed for the treatment of obesity as a disease,” Gallagher said.

Gallagher said she has reason for optimism. She pointed to recent remarks where Kennedy seemed to soften his stance.

In his CNBC interview, Kennedy said anti-obesity drugs "have a place."

Topics

2025 Sentry TV schedule, channel, live stream, radio, where to watch PGA Tour's opening event coverage

After a short offseason, the PGA Tour returns to kick off the 2025 campaign
CBS Sports - 1h
Saudi Arabia says it executes 6 Iranians for drug smuggling

Saudi Arabia says it has executed six Iranian men over drug smuggling, sparking strong objections from Iran at a time when the two countries are trying to mend relations
ABC News - 21h
NFL star Odell Beckham Jr. has made a career of picking up and moving—and what about his real estate?

His departure from the Dolphins marks the latest in a long line of twists and turns in his career, from the NY Giants to the Browns, Ravens and Rams.
MarketWatch - 9h
Littler beats Aspinall to set up Bunting semi-final

Teenager Luke Littler beat his friend Nathan Aspinall 5-2 to set up a semi-final against Stephen Bunting in the PDC World Championship.
BBC News - 19h
PDC World Darts Championship: Littler overpowers Aspinall to set up Bunting clash – as it happened

Luke Littler was too good for Nathan Aspinall while Michael van Gerwen beat Callan Rydz in an epic on quarter-final day. Dobey 0-1 Price (legs 2-3) Price steals the first set with a majestic ...
The Guardian - 20h
Lions could have one of their best defenders back vs. Vikings as Detroit looks to lock up NFC North, top seed

Alex Anzalone hasn't played since Week 11
CBS Sports - 20h
Joey Porter Jr. injury update: Steelers expected to get CB back for Week 18 showdown vs. Bengals

This addition should play a big role in Saturday's outcome
CBS Sports - 1d

More from The Hill

Duchess of Sussex's Netflix series set for January premiere

Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, has a Netflix series set for a mid-January premiere, the streaming service said in a Thursday post on the social platform X. The show, titled “With Love, Meghan,” ...
The Hill - 26m
Ron Johnson: Reducing 'out of control' government spending is not only 'reasonable but doable'

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) doubled down on a conservative plan to reduce government spending with new proposals outlined in an op-ed published by The Wall Street Journal. “Federal spending is out of ...
The Hill - 29m
The nexus of organized crime and foreign meddling threatens Latin America

The growing power of organized crime and its destabilizing effects on Latin American democracies present new vulnerabilities for foreign powers to exploit.
The Hill - 35m
Watch live: Las Vegas Police Department gives update on Cybertruck explosion

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) will brief the press Thursday afternoon on their investigation into a Tesla Cybertruck that exploded early Wednesday morning in front of ...
The Hill - 43m
Mike Waltz: Deadly attacks add urgency to confirming Trump nominees

President-elect Trump's incoming national security adviser argued Monday that the attack in New Orleans that killed 14 people underscored the need to quickly confirm a slew of Cabinet nominees. ...
The Hill - 51m

More in Politics

Duchess of Sussex's Netflix series set for January premiere

Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, has a Netflix series set for a mid-January premiere, the streaming service said in a Thursday post on the social platform X. The show, titled “With Love, Meghan,” ...
The Hill - 26m
Ron Johnson: Reducing 'out of control' government spending is not only 'reasonable but doable'

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) doubled down on a conservative plan to reduce government spending with new proposals outlined in an op-ed published by The Wall Street Journal. “Federal spending is out of ...
The Hill - 29m
The nexus of organized crime and foreign meddling threatens Latin America

The growing power of organized crime and its destabilizing effects on Latin American democracies present new vulnerabilities for foreign powers to exploit.
The Hill - 35m
Watch live: Las Vegas Police Department gives update on Cybertruck explosion

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) will brief the press Thursday afternoon on their investigation into a Tesla Cybertruck that exploded early Wednesday morning in front of ...
The Hill - 43m
Mike Waltz: Deadly attacks add urgency to confirming Trump nominees

President-elect Trump's incoming national security adviser argued Monday that the attack in New Orleans that killed 14 people underscored the need to quickly confirm a slew of Cabinet nominees. ...
The Hill - 51m

}