LINCOLN- State Sen. Merv Riepe is looking to expand Medicaid coverage to include obesity, an effort he described Thursday as seeking to tackle the “root cause” of other ailments. LB907 seeks to expand coverage for intensive behavioral therapy and anti-obesity medications. The medications, prescribed in conjunction with diet and exercise changes, would be part of a tiered approach in addressing a chronic disease that affects more than 30% of Nebraskans.

“It’s just one more tool in the toolbox,” Riepe told the Health and Human Services Committee this week .Anti-obesity medications approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are eligible for use by patients with obesity who have body mass indexes of 30 or greater, or those with a BMI of 27 or greater and at least one or more comorbidity.

LB 907 includes a fiscal note from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services of about $300 million in the first two years, though a high-end estimate, without best practices in providing care or determining Medicaid eligibility, could cost up to $500 million annually. No one testified in opposition to LB907. The committee took no immediate action.

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