Americans often view obesity in cultural terms. However, the National Institutes of Health calls it a disease at an epidemic level and a leading driver of a host of other medical conditions, from cardiovascular disease to several types of cancer, to respiratory diseases, to depression.

The NIH said that 42.5% of American adults are obese, the first time that figure has eclipsed 40%. Among people between 2 and 19, the obesity rate is 19.7%, according to the NIH.

Yet since 2003, federal law has precluded Medicare from covering anti-obesity drugs, due to concerns about efficacy and safety. That’s doubly important because Medicare coverage decisions often guide other governmental and private insurance coverage.

Now, a new generation of drugs should produce a change in that policy.

Pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk recently released the results of a clinical trial including 17,600 patients with obesity, showing that its weight-loss drug Wegovy also reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease in patients by about 20%.

Bipartisan groups of legislators in both houses of Congress have introduced the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act,which would enable Medicare to cover drugs and other treatments for obesity.

Like many other diseases, obesity is particularly troublesome for people older than 60, putting the matter squarely under Medicare’s purview.

Coverage is crucial because the new treatments are expensive, about $16,000 a year. Widespread coverage would help to reduce that cost, and a 20% reduction in cardiovascular disease among older patients probably would save money for Medicare.

Congress should authorize coverage as a matter of public health.

— Tribune News Service