In February 2025, Aimed Alliance submitted a comment on Washington Senate Bill 5353, which would require health carriers to provide coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of obesity. While Aimed Alliance supports the bill as an important step in ensuring comprehensive care for individuals with obesity, the comment urged the Committee to strengthen protections against restrictive practices by health carriers that could hinder patient access to effective treatments.
Specifically, Aimed Alliance urged the Committee to prohibit health carriers from requiring patients to try off-label medications before accessing FDA-approved obesity treatments. This practice, known as off-label stepping, forces patients to use drugs not specifically approved for their condition, potentially delaying appropriate care and increasing health risks. Additionally, the comment urged lawmakers to ensure that healthcare providers retain discretion in prescribing anti-obesity medications after a patients BMI reaches 30 or below. Since many patients may require ongoing treatment, discontinuing coverage solely based on this BMI threshold could jeopardize progress and lead to adverse health outcomes. Read Aimed Alliance’s comment.
Last Updated on February 7, 2025 by Aimed Alliance
