I am a lifelong Massachusetts resident. I remember our pride and celebration two decades ago when we became the first state to guarantee health insurance for almost everyone. In the years since, the commonwealth has prioritized closing health disparities in the spirit of that law, and our belief that each person has a right to access high-quality care.
That is why – in a state where life expectancies from neighborhoods two miles apart differ by 23 years – restricting medications for people who have low incomes and are most affected by obesity is so alarming.
Obesity is not someone’s failure. The American Medical Association and World Health Organization classify it as a chronic, metabolic disease. It can lead to heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, kidney disease, stroke and some cancers. GLP-1 medications are a breakthrough for patients who previously did not have the tools to address the biological causes of obesity…