Sen. John Fetterman called on lawmakers to make weight-loss medications affordable, drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, which he wrote can be a "game changer" in a guest opinion column published by the New York Times this week.
The first-term Democrat from Pennsylvania wrote that the Trump administration was wrong to halt a proposal by President Joe Biden that aimed to expand coverage of costly GLP-1 medications to more than 7 million Americans on Medicare or Medicaid. In the article published Tuesday, Fetterman, 55, also described the health benefits he's felt since taking Mounjaro, another GLP-1, which he was prescribed in July.
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Like other GLP-1s, Mounjaro was developed to treat diabetes, but a version is approved by the FDA for weight loss. Fetterman, who survived a stroke in 2022, said he was prescribed the medication for his heart health and became interested in studies that found the drug could reduce the risk of major cardiac events.
GLP-1 drugs also have been associated with other health benefits, like reducing one's risk of seizures, dementia, Alzheimer's, suicidal ideation and psychotic disorders. They also have been found to lower the risk of addiction to alcohol, stimulants, opioids and cannabis. Fetterman, who noted in the column his is not being paid by any pharmaceutical company for speaking positively about his experience with the medication, described how Mounjaro has helped him.
"It’s made a significant impact on my overall health," Fetterman writes. "Aches, pains and stiffness have vanished. Physically, I feel a decade younger, clearer-headed and more optimistic than I’d been in years. As far as side effects, I’ve also lost around 20 pounds."
Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro can cost up to $1,000 monthly without insurance, and there is currently limited coverage provided by Medicare and Medicaid, Fetterman said. In November, Biden aimed to change that with a plan to reduce out-of-pocket costs by as much as 95% for an estimated 3.4 million Americans on Medicare and 4 million others who use Medicaid. Fetterman called the proposal "a necessary response to a national health crisis," especially as almost half of U.S. adults struggle with obesity, which is linked to deadly conditions like heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
The Trump administration announced Friday is it abandoning the Biden administration's initiative. While the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services did not explain why it was halting the plan, President Donald Trump's U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. previously has made statements disapproving of the medications, and saying people should prioritize healthier diets instead.
Fetterman agrees "diet and lifestyle matter," but said that those things aren't enough on their own.
"For the millions of Americans struggling with serious health issues, medication can be a crucial first step to regaining enough control of their health to begin making meaningful lifestyle changes," Fetterman writes. "… It should be simple: Our government should be in the business of making lifesaving medication accessible and affordable."
