08-03-2023_BoardBook

7173 S. Havana St #600-130 Centennial, CO 80112 P: 303.770.2526 | F: 303.779.4834 obesitymedicine.org

05/07/2023 Teacher Retirement System (TRS) of Texas Austin, TX 20277 Dear TRS Board Member,

The Obesity Medicine Association (OMA) is an organization of nearly 5,000 expert medical clinicians who treat the chronic and relapsing disease of obesity. One of the challenges our providers and their patients face is the lack of coverage for the treatment of obesity, inclusive of effective FDA-approved anti-obesity medications (AOMs). It has come to our attention that the TRS has been extremely forward thinking by providing coverage of AOMs since 2018, but recently decided to discontinue this coverage for its beneficiaries. This decision will significantly disadvantage those TRS plan beneficiaries who were previously being treated successfully for obesity with AOMs in addition to future patients who could benefit from this key treatment intervention. Due to the chronic and relapsing nature of the disease of obesity, the majority of those people who were being treated will begin to have weight recurrence despite their best efforts with healthy nutrition and physical activity endeavors, of no fault of the patient(s). The American Medical Association (AMA) defined obesity as a chronic disease in 2013. Science has shown that obesity is not the liability of an individual’s lifestyle, but instead, obesity represents a complex and multi-factorial disease. Obesity has genetic origins with biological, environmental, and cultural influences which display differently in each patient. Obesity is costly and causes over 200 other medical conditions including diabetes, heart disease, depression, and several types of cancer. To that end, it is obvious that by treating obesity first, (the principal cause of these conditions), medical costs would be significantly reduced due to the prevention, improvement, or resolution of these related diseases. Treating obesity improves patients’ health, well-being, and quality of life. To our mind, there isn’t another chronic disease that health plans are able to “carve out” or exclude from treatment coverage. Members of the OMA are powerful advocates for our patients. We work tirelessly to improve access to obesity treatments throughout the country at both the local (state) as well as federal levels. To that end, the OMA respectfully requests the TRS reconsider denying your current and future beneficiaries’ access to the prescribed obesity treatments they need in achieving optimal health. Should you have any additional questions or wish to speak with me directly, do not hesitate to contact me; my full contact information is as below. Sincerely,

Angela Fitch, MD, FACP, FOMA Office: 303-770-2526, Extension #110 E-mail: drfitch@knownwell.health