SLS 21RS-3673 ORIGINAL
2021 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 245
BY SENATOR BARROW
CONGRESS. Memorializes Congress to enact the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act (TROA).
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To memorialize the Congress of the United States to enact the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act
3 (TROA).
4 WHEREAS, the National Institutes of Health has reported that obesity is now the
5 second leading cause of death nationally, with an estimated three hundred thousand deaths
6 a year attributed to the epidemic; and
7 WHEREAS, obesity increases the risk for chronic diseases and conditions, including
8 high blood pressure, heart disease, certain cancers, arthritis, mental illness, lipid disorders,
9 sleep apnea, and type 2 diabetes; and
10 WHEREAS, 34.2% of rural Americans live with obesity compared to 28.7% of those
11 who live in metropolitan areas; and
12 WHEREAS, racial and ethnic minority groups have been disproportionately
13 impacted, with the highest prevalence of obesity among non-Hispanic blacks (49.6%),
14 followed by Hispanics (44.8%) and non-Hispanic whites (42.2%), and non-Hispanic Asian
15 adults (17.4%); and
16 WHEREAS, currently, $1.42 trillion is spent each year on direct and indirect costs
17 for health conditions related to obesity; and
18 WHEREAS, on average, a Medicare beneficiary with obesity costs two thousand
Page 1 of 3 SR NO. 245
SLS 21RS-3673 ORIGINAL
1 eighteen dollars in 2019, more than a healthy-weight beneficiary; and
2 WHEREAS, overall improvement in health conditions from covered obesity
3 treatments would lead to lower expenditures in emergency room care, ambulatory care,
4 inpatient stays, and prescriptions, resulting in net savings between six thousand seven
5 hundred dollars and seven thousand one hundred dollars over ten years per person; and
6 WHEREAS, utilization of obesity treatments will generate Medicare budget savings
7 between eighteen and twenty-three billion dollars over ten years; and
8 WHEREAS, less than one percent of Medicare beneficiaries with obesity are able
9 to access obesity care; and
10 WHEREAS, the proposed Medicare coverage changes would decrease federal
11 government spending by approximately twenty-five million dollars over the fiscal year
12 2020-2029 budget window; and
13 WHEREAS, the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act (TROA) authored by Louisiana
14 United States Senator Bill Cassidy is a real opportunity to help adults living with obesity by
15 making targeted therapies and medications more widely available through Medicare; and
16 WHEREAS, the TROA legislation enjoys bi-partisan support, being co-sponsored
17 by five Republicans in the United States Senate and five Democrats in the United States
18 Senate; and
WHEREAS, the following organizations have endorsed TROA: Academy of19
Nutrition and Dietetics, American Academy of PAs, American Association of Clinical20
Endocrinologists, American Association of Nurse Practitioners, American College of21
Occupational and Environmental Medicine, American Council on Excellence, American22
Gastroenterological Association, American Medical Group Association, American23
Psychological Association, American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery, Black24
Woman's Health Imperative, Eisai, Endocrine Society, Global Liver Institute, Healthcare25
Leadership Council, MedTech Coalition for Metabolic Health, National Alliance of26
Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions, Novo Nordisk, Obesity Action Coalition, Obesity Medicine27
Association, SECA, Strategies to Overcome and Prevent (STOP) Obesity Alliance, The28
Obesity Society, Trust for America's Health, WW International, and YMCA of the USA. 29
30 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
Page 2 of 3 SR NO. 245
SLS 21RS-3673 ORIGINAL
1 does hereby memorialize the Congress of the United States to enact the Treat and Reduce
2 Obesity Act (TROA).
3 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution shall be transmitted
4 to the secretary of the United States Senate and the clerk of the United States House of
5 Representatives and to each member of the Louisiana delegation to the United States
6 Congress.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by James Benton.
DIGEST
SR 245 Original 2021 Regular Session Barrow
Memorializes Congress to enact the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act.
Page 3 of 3