A large majority of older Americans feel that health insurance – including Medicare – should cover anti-obesity medications, according to a University of Michigan study. And more than half of older adults who meet criteria for obesity say they’re interested in trying one of these drugs to manage their weight.

Current law prevents Medicare from covering medications to treat obesity, and most private plans don’t cover the most effective newer weight management drugs because of cost. But 83% of older adults surveyed for the study agreed strongly or somewhat that health insurance should cover weight management medications.

Asked specifically about Medicare, 75% of respondents said the insurance program for older and disabled Americans should cover obesity medications. However, the percentage was much lower (30%) when respondents were asked if they’d favor having Medicare cover the drugs even if it meant paying a higher premium for their own coverage.

The research has especially timely significance for health policy, according to the authors.

A federal rule may take effect this spring that would allow Medicare to cover medications specifically for weight management for the first time, in light of growing understanding of the nature of obesity as a chronic disease.

Medicare currently covers a drug that is also used for weight management but only in people with diabetes or a history of heart attack or stroke.

Later this year, Medicare will begin negotiations with the company that makes semaglutide, as part its new price negotiation process.

The negotiated price would take effect in 2027.

The researchers analyzed data from the National Poll on Healthy Aging, based at the U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation and funded by Michigan Medicine, the U-M academic medical center, and AARP.

The analysis dives deeper into the data from the poll, which was conducted online and by phone in summer 2023 and had 2,657 respondents between the ages of 50 and 80.

In all, nearly 37% of poll respondents met criteria for overweight and 36% met criteria for obesity. Ninety percent of respondents agreed strongly or somewhat with the statement “Obesity is a chronic condition resulting from a combination of genetics, the food environment, medical conditions, and social factors.”

To download the full study, published in JAMA Network Open, click here