1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Treat and Reduce Obesity Act of 2013”.
Treat and Reduce Obesity Act of 2013
A BILL
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to include information on the coverage of intensive behavioral therapy for obesity in the Medicare and You Handbook and to provide for the coordination of programs to prevent and treat obesity, and for other purposes.
2. Findings
Congress makes the following findings:
According to the Centers for Disease Control, about 35 percent of adults aged 65 and over were obese in the period of 2007 through 2010, representing over 8 million adults aged 65 through 74.
Obesity increases the risk for chronic diseases and conditions, including high blood pressure, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes.
More than half of Medicare beneficiaries are treated for 5 or more chronic conditions per year. The rate of obesity among Medicare patients doubled from 1987 to 2002, and spending on those individuals more than doubled.
Obese men and women at age 65 have decreased life expectancy of 1.6 years for men and 1.4 years for women.
The direct and indirect cost of obesity is more than $450 billion annually.
On average, an obese Medicare beneficiary costs $1,964 more than a normal-weight beneficiary.
The prevalence of obesity among older Americans is growing at a linear rate and, left unchanged, nearly half of the elderly population will be obese in 2030 according to a Congressional Research Report on obesity.
3. Inclusion of information on coverage of intensive behavioral therapy for obesity in the Medicare and You Handbook
In general— Section 1804(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395b–2(a)) is amended—
in paragraph (2), by striking “and” at the end;
in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the end and inserting “, and”; and
by inserting after paragraph (3) the following new paragraph:
“(4) information on the coverage of intensive behavioral therapy for obesity under this title, including information regarding primary care physicians and other providers of services and suppliers who are eligible to furnish such therapy.”
Effective date— The amendments made by subsection (a) shall apply to notices distributed on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.
4. Authority to expand health care providers qualified to furnish intensive behavioral therapy
Section 1861(ddd) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(ddd)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
“(4) The Secretary may, in addition to qualified primary care physicians and other primary care practitioners, allow other physicians, registered dietitians, certified diabetes educators, and instructors trained and certified by the National Diabetes Prevention Lifestyle Coach Training program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to provide and be independently reimbursed for intensive behavioral therapy for obesity furnished outside of the primary care setting, so long as any such nonphysician provider or instructor furnishing such therapy to an individual must communicate any recommendations or treatment plan for the individual to the individual’s primary care physician or practitioner.”
5. Medicare part D coverage of obesity medication
In general— Section 1860D–2(e)(2)(A) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w–102(e)(2)(A)) is amended by inserting after “under section 1927(d)(2),” the following: “other than subparagraph (A) of such section if the drug is used for the treatment of obesity (as defined in section 1861(yy)(2)(C)) or for weight loss management for an individual who is overweight (as defined in section 1861(yy)(2)(F)(i)) and if the individual has one or more comorbidities,”.
Effective date— The amendment made by subsection (a) shall apply to plan years beginning on or after the date that is 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.