Ozempic coverage prompts stark internal schism among Republicans

Editor's note: This headline has been updated.

Anyone who watches MSNBC or CNN frequently has likely seen some commercials for Ozempic, a weight loss drug. Pharma companies do a lot of advertising on cable news, and Ozempic commercials have been plentiful.

According to Semafor's Kadia Goba, a major debate among Republicans involves Ozempic and other weight loss drugs.

Republicans, Goba reports in an article published on December 6, are "divided" on whether or not the federal government should "expand coverage of" Ozempic and other drugs aimed at weight loss.

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Goba notes that Dr. Mehmet Oz, who Trump has nominated to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, has "openly promoted Ozempic" — while anti-vaxxer conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been on an "anti-Ozempic crusade." Kennedy is Trump's nominee to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

"(President-elect Donald) Trump will have the power to scrap the Biden Administration's plans for anti-obesity medication after he takes office without formal input from the Hill," Goba explains, "but congressional Republicans will likely want their say on the issue. That requires them to reconcile their own internal argument over whether to reject new federal cash for the drugs or agree to short-term spending in the hopes of reducing the long-term cost of obesity-related illnesses."

Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), a co-chair of the GOP Doctors Caucus, is among the Republicans who favors coverage of weight-loss drugs.

Wenstrup told Semafor, " If you want to fight obesity and you have a tool that seems to be working, do it — but closely monitored."

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Read Semafor's full article at this link.