The Challenges and Opportunities Associated with Reimbursement for Obesity Pharmacotherapy in the USA.

Obesity has become a serious public health problem that has stimulated primordial and primary prevention efforts, and a triad of management options (lifestyle, pharmacotherapy, and surgical interventions). A growing body of evidence supports the need for a multi-pronged, clinic-based approach that leverages the synergy between pharmaceutical and lifestyle modification. Recent US policy changes-namely, the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act coupled with recognition of obesity as a disease by the American Medical Association-suggest that financial incentives and attitudes towards obesity management are changing.