The Trump administration has decided against implementing a proposal for Medicare and Medicaid to cover weight loss drugs, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said in a filing published Friday by the agency.

A CMS spokesperson said the agency now believes that finalizing the proposal “is not appropriate at this time.””CMS may consider future policy options for AOMs pending further review of both the potential benefits of these drugs including updated clinical indications, and relevant costs including fiscal impacts on stakeholders such as state Medicaid agencies,” Catherine Howden, the spokesperson, said in an email.

Medicare already covers drugs that are also widely used for weight loss, like Ozempic and Mounjaro, when they are prescribed by doctors for other reasons like managing diabetes.

But under the statute governing Medicare and Medicaid, the federal government is generally banned from covering drugs “when used for weight loss.”

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