II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 830 

To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for the 

coordination of programs to prevent and treat obesity, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 5 (legislative day, APRIL 4), 2017 

Mr. CASSIDY (for himself, Mr. CARPER, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. COONS, Ms. 

MURKOWSKI, Mr. HEINRICH, and Mrs. CAPITO) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide 

for the coordination of programs to prevent and treat 

obesity, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Treat and Reduce Obe5 sity Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) According to the Centers for Disease Con9 trol, about 34 percent of adults aged 65 and over 


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1 were obese in the period of 2009 through 2012, rep2 resenting almost 15 million people. 

3 (2) Obesity increases the risk for chronic dis4 eases and conditions, including high blood pressure, 

5 heart disease, certain cancers, arthritis, mental ill6 ness, lipid disorders, sleep apnea, and type 2 diabe7 tes. 

8 (3) More than half of Medicare beneficiaries are 

9 treated for 5 or more chronic conditions per year. 

10 The rate of obesity among Medicare patients dou11 bled from 1987 to 2002, and Medicare spending on 

12 obese individuals during that time more than dou13 bled. 

14 (4) Men and women with obesity at age 65 have 

15 decreased life expectancy of 1.6 years for men and 

16 1.4 years for women. 

17 (5) The direct and indirect cost of obesity is 

18 more than $450 billion annually. 

19 (6) On average, a Medicare beneficiary with 

20 obesity costs $1,964 more than a normal-weight ben21 eficiary. 

22 (7) The prevalence of obesity among older indi23 viduals in the United States is growing at a linear 

24 rate and, if nothing changes, nearly half of the el25 derly population of the United States will have obeVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:53 Apr 11, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S830.IS S830

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1 sity in 2030 according to a Congressional Research 

2 Report on obesity. 

3 SEC. 3. AUTHORITY TO EXPAND HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS 

4 QUALIFIED TO FURNISH INTENSIVE BEHAV5 IORAL THERAPY. 

6 Section 1861(ddd) of the Social Security Act (42 

7 U.S.C. 1395x(ddd)) is amended by adding at the end the 

8 following new paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(4)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), the Sec10 retary may, in addition to qualified primary care 

11 physicians and other primary care practitioners, 

12 cover intensive behavioral therapy for obesity fur13 nished by any of the following: 

14 ‘‘(i) A physician (as defined in subsection 

15 (r)(1)) who is not a qualified primary care phy16 sician. 

17 ‘‘(ii) Any other appropriate health care 

18 provider (including a physician assistant, nurse 

19 practitioner, or clinical nurse specialist (as 

20 those terms are defined in subsection (aa)(5)), 

21 a clinical psychologist, a registered dietitian or 

22 nutrition professional (as defined in subsection 

23 (vv))). 


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1 ‘‘(iii) An evidence-based, community-based 

2 lifestyle counseling program approved by the 

3 Secretary. 

4 ‘‘(B) In the case of intensive behavioral therapy 

5 for obesity furnished by a provider described in 

6 clause (ii) or (iii) of subparagraph (A), the Secretary 

7 may only cover such therapy if such therapy is fur8 nished— 

9 ‘‘(i) upon referral from, and in coordina10 tion with, a physician or primary care practi11 tioner operating in a primary care setting or 

12 any other setting specified by the Secretary; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(ii) in an office setting, a hospital out-pa15 tient department, a community-based site that 

16 complies with the Federal regulations con17 cerning the privacy of individually identifiable 

18 health information promulgated under section 

19 264(c) of the Health Insurance Portability and 

20 Accountability Act of 1996, or another setting 

21 specified by the Secretary. 

22 ‘‘(C) In order to ensure a collaborative effort, 

23 the coordination described in subparagraph (B)(i) 

24 shall include the health care provider or lifestyle 

25 counseling program communicating to the referring 


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1 physician or primary care practitioner any rec2 ommendations or treatment plans made regarding 

3 the therapy.’’. 

4 SEC. 4. MEDICARE PART D COVERAGE OF OBESITY MEDI5 CATION. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1860D–2(e)(2)(A) of the 

7 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w–102(e)(2)(A)) is 

8 amended, in the first sentence— 

9 (1) by striking ‘‘and other than’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘other than’’; and 

11 (2) by inserting after ‘‘benzodiazepines),’’ the 

12 following: ‘‘and other than subparagraph (A) of such 

13 section if the drug is used for the treatment of obe14 sity (as defined in section 1861(yy)(2)(C)) or for 

15 weight loss management for an individual who is 

16 overweight (as defined in section 1861(yy)(2)(F)(i)) 

17 and has one or more related comorbidities,’’. 

18 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

19 subsection (a) shall apply to plan years beginning on or 

20 after the date that is 2 years after the date of the enact21 ment of this Act. 

22 SEC. 5. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

23 Not later than the date that is 1 year after the date 

24 of the enactment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, 

25 the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit 


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1 a report to Congress describing the steps the Secretary 

2 has taken to implement the provisions of, and amend3 ments made by, this Act. Such report shall also include 

4 recommendations for better coordination and leveraging of 

5 programs within the Department of Health and Human 

6 Services and other Federal agencies that relate in any way 

7 to supporting appropriate research and clinical care (such 

8 as any interactions between physicians and other health 

9 care providers and their patients) to treat, reduce, and 

10 prevent obesity in the adult population. 

Æ 


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