This week, the Endocrine Society endorsed the Senate Treat and Reduce Obesity Act (TROA). The legislation, sponsored by Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Senator Ben Rae Lujan (D-NM), would allow Medicare to cover FDA approved anti-obesity medications (AOMs), which are scientifically proven to be effective in treating obesity. Currently, Medicare is prohibited by law from covering AOMs; legislation is needed to allow Medicare to cover these medications. The legislation would also remove coverage restrictions currently in place under Medicare Part B that make it challenging for primary care providers to refer for Intensive Behavioral Therapy (IBT), an effective lifestyle intervention to treat obesity. The bill had been introduced in previous congressional terms but was not able to obtain enough support. The Society released a statement announcing our support of TROA and applauding the bill sponsors for their leadership in addressing this issue. Senator Cassidy also listed the Endocrine Society as a TROA supporter on his press release. We will continue to educate Members of Congress and congressional staff about obesity and urge Congress to pass TROA. Earlier this year, we published an updated version of our “Obesity Playbook”, an educational resource guide on obesity for congressional staff. The Society will also host a congressional briefing later this summer on obesity and heart disease.
Endocrine Society members Mandy Bell, MD and Barbara Onumah, MD, who serve as the Society’s delegation to the American Medical Association’s (AMA) House of Delegates, will attend the AMA meeting in Chicago beginning at the end of this week to advocate for policies important to our members. The Society will introduce a resolution that builds upon the existing AMA policy of advocating for obesity treatments to improve patient care and reduce health care costs. The resolution will encourage the AMA to advocate for insurers to eliminate coverage exclusions that prevent people from using their health insurance to cover the cost of anti-obesity medications (AOM), including the new class of medications called GLP-1s. The resolution also calls for reducing the burden of prior authorization, when health care providers must seek insurance plan approval before prescribing anti-obesity medications. In addition, the resolution supports the elimination of insurance requirements that force patients to obtain prescriptions only from contracted disease management companies. These measures would broaden access to anti-obesity medications.
The Endocrine Society is the lead sponsor of this resolution and worked with other endocrine and obesity focused medical societies in the House of Delegates to introduce this proposal. We continue to be a leader in advocating for access to anti-obesity medications.
The White House Office of Management and Budget released the President’s Budget Request (PBR) for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY 2026). The PBR calls for a 40% cut to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget as well as drastic cuts to other agencies under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The HHS Budget in Brief for FY 2026 provides additional information about the proposed cuts as well as a massive reorganization of the existing agencies under the Department of Health and Human Services, including the NIH, and formation of a new agency, the Administration for a Healthy America (AHA).
The HHS Budget in Brief reveals a 40% proposed cut to the NIH budget and the consolidation of NIH’s 27 Institutes and Centers (ICs) down to 8. While it leaves the National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and National Institute on Aging in place, it proposes to eliminate four ICs, move the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences to AHA, and consolidate the remaining agencies into new ICs. It is unclear how research underway at these institutions will be affected or if there is a scientific or policy rationale for this restructuring.
The PBR also proposes to slightly decrease funding for the Special Diabetes Program (SDP), which funds type 1 diabetes research and type 2 diabetes treatment and education programs among American Indians and Alaskan Natives. Funding proposed for SDP in FY 2026 is $159 million compared to its current funding level at $160 million. The Society has been a leading advocate for the reauthorization of SDP and has urged Congress to reauthorize SDP at $170 million per-program per-year for at least two years.
We are concerned that the proposed restructuring and funding cuts to NIH would erode the nation’s investment in medical research and take years to recover. The Endocrine Society is urging Congress to exercise its oversight authority and demand HHS halt any pending changes to the organization of NIH. It is critical to have a scientific and policy rationale for these changes and feedback from the congressional and stakeholder communities. Details about the impact of the cuts on grants and programs will be provided in the Congressional Justification prepared by NIH, which provides the Senate and House Appropriations Committees detailed estimates and justifications for research and research support activities that NIH would anticipate funding at the President's Budget Request level. We recognize that these cuts will directly affect our members through reduced paylines and the reduction or elimination of support for grant programs. We will continue to educate Congress and the administration about the importance of funding biomedical research and ensure funding is spent as intended. We urge you to amplify our message by joining in our online campaign.
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