10.25.2023 OMA Board Book

OCAN Advocacy Efforts OMA is a founding member of the Obesity Care Advocacy Network (OCAN), which now includes more than 35 organizations working together to promote federal policy that expands treatment options for Americans affected by obesity. This year, I continue to involve OMA advocacy committee members in OCAN advocacy efforts targeting congressional staff and regulatory agencies. OCAN Comments on USPSTF Draft Research Plan for Obesity Interventions On June 14, 2023, OCAN provided public comment regarding the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) “Draft Research Plan on Weight Loss to Prevent Obesity-Related Morbidity and Mortality: Interventions.” While OCAN was pleased that the USPSTF has begun the process of updating its 2018 recommendations and is proposing to evaluate IBT services and pharmacotherapy as part of the obesity care continuum, OCAN urged the Task Force to consider all evidence-based treatment avenues, such as IBT, pharmacotherapy, and surgery in developing an appropriate research plan for evaluating the scope of interventions the Task Force plans to recommend. Obesity advocates also applauded the Task Force for including a number of key issues in its contextual questions surrounding both bias and stigma as well as health inequities surrounding access to obesity care. In this vein, OCAN strongly urged USPSTF to amend its title language to “Interventions to Prevent Obesity-Related Morbidity and Mortality in Adults” as the term “weight loss and weight loss maintenance,” which is used frequently throughout this draft research plan, describes an intermediate outcome, not interventions. In addressing a question regarding the effectiveness and comparative effectiveness and safety of bariatric procedures, OCAN highlighted how there is a well-established body of evidence that demonstrates the effectiveness of bariatric surgery. Bariatric surgery can address several complications of obesity like diabetes, improve quality of life, and increase life expectancy. While we recognize that primary care providers are not surgeons, they are at the forefront of identifying the intervention as an option and it is important for them to refer a patient if needed. AMA House of Delegates Update In honor of the 10-year anniversary of the AMA’s recognition of obesity as a disease, the ASMBS and its partner cosponsoring organizations, SAGES and OMA, set out to have the AMA on record as supporting advocacy efforts against discriminatory practices by insurance providers. These groups were able to push through a resolution in the House of Delegates that will give specialty societies access to some of the national advocacy resources that the AMA has at its disposal for state advocacy – provided that a state medical society requests such help. While the focus of the new policy targets discriminatory health plan design specific to patient access to bariatric surgery, we are hopeful that we can expand on this policy in the future to include AOMs and counseling services. State Advocacy Joint OAC/ADA Advocacy Efforts Persuade Illinois Medicaid to Cover AOMs in 2024 On September 27th, AOC and ADA joined forces again in submitting comments to the Illinois State Medicaid Program — urging the program to adopt AOM coverage. In previous correspondence with the ADA, Medicaid staff have cited the Social Security Act Medicare Part D language as the basis of the current state policy to deny

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