Obesity Treatment Calls for Consistency, Not Cost-Cutting

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A board certified physician associate from Salem, New Hampshire argues that obesity should be treated as a medical condition, with consistent coverage and treatment, rather than having coverage cut or facing barriers that disrupt care. The writer states that just as we would not stop treating hypertension or diabetes once a patient improves, the same approach should be taken with obesity.

Why it matters

Obesity is a growing public health issue, and the writer believes that treating it as a disease, with consistent and accessible medical care, is crucial to making meaningful progress. Cutting coverage or creating barriers to treatment risks undoing any gains made in addressing the obesity epidemic.

The details

The writer, Joseph Zucchi, a board certified physician associate and clinical supervisor at Transition Medical Weight Loss, states that while cost matters and there is room for guardrails like prior authorizations, cutting coverage altogether or creating barriers that disrupt care risks undoing meaningful health progress. Zucchi argues that if we are serious about treating obesity as a disease, our policies need to reflect that consistency of care.

• The letter was published on March 24, 2026.

What they’re saying