Legislation needed to better treat Coloradans' obesity, prediabetes
- eskramer2
- Jul 26, 2024
- 3 min read
By Adam Gilden and Rebecca Andrick Jul 3, 2024
No matter how worthy the cause, policy initiatives go nowhere without the help of legislator champions to fight for them. When it comes to addressing Colorado’s obesity and diabetes crises, we Diabetes Advocates are grateful to have state Sen. Dafna Michaelson Jenet in our corner.
Through her sponsorship of Senate Bill 24-054, the Diabetes Prevention and Obesity Treatment Act, this legislative session Sen. Michaelson Jenet shone a spotlight on the need for increased coverage and access to obesity and prediabetes treatments. Unfortunately, the bill did not make it past the finish line this year. However, a silver lining can still be found. The bill cleared the Senate and gained the support of co-sponsors along the way. Attention to this issue has grown, and support for legislative proposals like SB24-054 continue to gain momentum in the Centennial State.
The obesity pandemic in the U.S. is worsening, not improving. More than 1 million Colorado adults, or more than 25% of the adult population, have obesity. Insurance coverage, access to health care, availability of healthy food options, reliable transportation and sufficient income are among the social determinants of health that contribute to the problem of obesity.
Without intervention, people suffering from these conditions are likely to develop other chronic conditions consequently. In 2017 alone, diabetes cost Colorado $3.5 billion in direct medical expenses and lost productivity from diabetes. Last year, the American Diabetes Association reported the medical expenses for Coloradans with diabetes are roughly 2.6 times greater than those who do not have diabetes.
Though there is no magic bullet that can alleviate all those pressures at once, increasing coverage of obesity treatments is a great place to start. Had it passed, the Diabetes Prevention and Obesity Treatment Act would have required insurance providers to cover treatments for obesity and prediabetes, including behavioral or lifestyle therapy, bariatric surgery and Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved anti-obesity medications. Weight-loss medications have skyrocketed in popularity during the past two years. The availability of highly effective and safe medications highlights the nature of obesity as a chronic metabolic condition that requires long-term treatment. However, the efficacy of these drugs and other treatment options mean next to nothing if they continue to remain cost-prohibitive to those who need them most.
Unfortunately, our Medicaid population does not have access to these medications. The current situation of insurance coverage for anti-obesity medications is worsening disparities in health in our population. We share the concerns about high prices for these newer, effective medicines and the number of people eligible to take them. However, burying our heads in the sand and pretending we can continue to treat obesity exclusively with the “eat less, exercise more” approach is not the right answer.
Many times, when considering a change in policy or legislation, we fail to note the true cost-savings that preventing chronic illness, such as type-2 diabetes and obesity, can have on our overall health care system. It is hard to capture preventive health savings and return on investment, but crucial to do so. Every prevented emergency department visit; every curbed joint replacement; every diagnosis of type-2 diabetes; and every prevented heart attack, stroke and cancer results in cost savings. Failure to recognize that is a weakness in our lawmaking process.
Though the Diabetes Prevention and Obesity Treatment Act failed to pass this legislative session, the fight is far from over. There is more work to be done and it is encouraging to see more and more voices join the chorus to demand increased coverage for the treatment of obesity. We Coloradans are grateful to Sen. Michaelson Jenet for championing our cause this legislative session.
If we have advocates like her in our corner, we feel confident that the fight to address obesity and prediabetes in Colorado will ultimately be a success.
Dr. Adam Gilden is a weight management specialist at the University of Colorado. He has been doing clinical research and practicing in this field of medicine for 20 years. He teaches medical residents and is associate director of the obesity medicine fellowship program at the Anschutz Medical Campus. Dr. Rebecca Andrick is certified by the American Board of Obesity Medicine (ABOM) and American Nutrition Association (CNS) and fellow of the Obesity Medicine Association (OMA).
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