Elon Musk, who has been nominated to lead the Department of Government Efficiency in the administration of President-elect Donald Trump, expressed his support for weight loss drugs on Wednesday.
“Nothing would do more to improve the health, lifespan and quality of life of Americans than making (GLP-1 drugs) very low cost to the public. Nothing else even comes close,” Musk. X wrote in his message.
Some of the more prominent GLP-1 drugs, also known as weight loss drugs, include Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the newly announced chairman of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), arrives on Capitol Hill on December 05, 2024 in Washington, DC.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services — has openly expressed negative views about people who use obesity medications.
RFK Jr. previously told Fox News that weight-loss drug makers are “counting on selling to Americans because we’re so stupid and addicted to drugs.”
“If we gave every man, woman and child in our country good food, three meals a day, we could solve the obesity and diabetes epidemic overnight,” he added.
However, in a televised interview on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, following Musk’s approval of the GLP-1 drug, RFK Jr. offered a slightly different take on his earlier comments, suggesting that the weight-loss drug might. have a place” after all.
“The first line of response must be lifestyle, it must be eating well, making sure you are not obese and that these GLP drugs have a place,” he said.
As head of HHS, RFK Jr. will oversee agencies like the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, which manages health coverage for millions of Americans, as well as the Food and Drug Administration, which is responsible for approving new drugs or expanding their uses. existing drugs, given that they are safe and effective.
Trump has chosen Dr. Mehmet Oz to work under RFK Jr. as head of CMS. Oz has spoken favorably about anti-obesity drugs. It remains to be seen how this difference of opinion can play out between the two Trump appointees.
Last month, CMS under President Joe Biden proposed a new rule to expand access to these drugs by classifying them as treatment for disease rather than just for weight loss.
Currently, Medicare does not allow coverage for weight loss medications alone.
GLP-1 drugs approved by the FDA for type 2 diabetes are covered if the patient has diabetes.
Wegovy is covered for obesity even if the patient has cardiovascular disease.
Individual states may choose to cover these drugs through Medicaid, but many do not.
Musk’s post was written in response to a continuous discourse about the US health care industry, affected by the firing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson earlier this month.
At the time of his arrest, the shooting suspect was said to be carrying writings criticizing the nation’s health care industry as the most expensive in the world, even though the US ranks lower than many other developed nations in terms of life expectancy. to law enforcement.
Multiple clinical trials are also underway to determine what other diseases GLP-1 drugs can protect against. The drugs are currently approved for type 2 diabetes, weight loss and heart disease.
Studies have shown that along with weight loss and type 2 diabetes management, the drugs can protect against high blood pressure, liver disease, kidney disease and other health complications of obesity.
Research has also proven that drugs may reduce the risk of cognitive declinelike dementia
There have also been previous anecdotal reports that the drug may help reduce addictive behavior, including substance abuse, alcohol use or gambling, which researchers continue to investigate.
The FDA will review the safety and efficacy data from these pending trials to determine whether they meet the standards for approval.
ABC News’ T. Michelle Murphy contributed to this report.
