On April 4, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule regarding “Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Contract Year 2026 Policy and Technical Changes to the Medicare Advantage Program, Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Program, Medicare Cost Plan Program, and Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly.” The rule included a statement that CMS did not intend to finalize “Part D Coverage of Anti-Obesity Medications (AOMs),” meaning Medicare and Medicaid would not cover AOMs in Contract Year 2026. CMS noted it would “continue to consider the extent to which it may be appropriate to engage in future rulemaking in this area.”

The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) remains committed to ensuring access to comprehensive obesity care, including AOMs for older people. We will continue advocating that the Administration and leaders on Capitol Hill address the ongoing obesity epidemic and its profound impact on the nearly 40 percent of older people living with this chronic disease. It remains critical for lawmakers to set policies that would expand access to comprehensive obesity care, including AOMs and behavioral interventions, for older people. We encourage legislators to align policies at CMS with the prevailing medical consensus and update Medicare coverage for obesity care using evidence-based information.  

In 2015, GSA developed a model for care of older adults that provides a useful framework for primary care providers in helping older people with obesity recognize their condition and take action to maintain a healthy weight. The GSA KAER framework — Kickstart, Assess, Evaluate, and Refer — supports primary care teams to better meet the needs of older adults with obesity and overweight. Using this framework with the tools and resources in the GSA Toolkit for the Management of Obesity in Older Adults, care teams can kickstart the discussion of weight with older adults and their families; assess the presence of altered body fat amount, distribution, and/or function; evaluate the individualized care plans developed for older adults with overweight and obesity; and refer patients to community resources.

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The Gerontological Society of America (GSA), founded in 1945, is the nation’s oldest and largest interdisciplinary organization focused on aging. It serves more than 6,000 members in over 50 countries. GSA’s vision, meaningful lives as we age, is supported by its mission to foster excellence, innovation, and collaboration to advance aging research, education, practice, and policy. GSA is home to the National Academy on an Aging Society (a nonpartisan public policy institute) and the National Center to Reframe Aging.