![]() Medicare coverage of obesity services and treatments currently includes obesity screening, behavioral counseling, and bariatric surgery, but not drugs that are prescribed for weight loss. In this piece, we discuss Medicare coverage of obesity treatments, the potential cost implications if Medicare covers anti-obesity drugs, and how the Inflation Reduction Act could potentially address these cost concerns. But they are also expensive, and not covered by Medicare when used for weight loss. Initially approved to treat type 2 diabetes, these drugs, known as GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) agonists, including Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy (semaglutide) and Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro (tirzepatide), are also highly effective weight loss agents. This piece was originally published on NCSA’s Medium account.A relatively new class of medications is generating excitement in the medical community and among people with obesity and others who struggle to lose weight. He currently lives in Ohio with his sister, her husband, and their pomeranian. As one of the original autism self-advocates he has served on the board of Autism Society of America, has written two books on autism, has spoken at numerous conferences, has done private consulting, and has even appeared on Oprah. ![]() Thomas McKean was diagnosed with autism in 1979 at the age of 14. That’s why Autism Awareness Month is in April. Springtime, new beginnings, nicer weather, a better time for conferences, fund raisers, and other awareness activities. At that point we pretty much immediately chose April. We did this because they started with A - like Autism. When we were deciding what it would be, we first narrowed the twelve months down to April and August. I was also involved in the creation of Autism Awareness Month. One more thing, sort of related, because there is room here to add it. You can see the love is there in the meanings of the symbol. We didn’t create this because we hate people with autism, just the opposite. There are people saying this is a symbol of hate. Even hope that one day we will be judged not by the symptoms of the autism, but by the content of our character. Hope for awareness, hope for acceptance, hope for understanding, hope for a cure for those who may want it. The brightness of the colors represent hope. And everyone anywhere in between all of these things. Those who are finding their way and those who are not. Those in the institutions and those who live independently. The young to the old, the cruel to the kind, the talkative to the non-verbal. From those who have an interest here to those who have another interest there. Everything from the most severe cases to those who are wildly successful. The different colors of the puzzle pieces represent the vast diversity of the autism spectrum. So again, the pieces speak to the condition of autism itself, not to any specific individual who has it. What we are saying here is there are still a few things that we haven’t quite figured out yet about how all of this works. We are not saying, as some believe, that “people with autism are a puzzle.” We are not saying they are “missing pieces.” We are not saying they are “a puzzle to be solved.” We never said any of that. ![]() Understand we are talking about autism itself, not any individual who may be diagnosed. The interlocking pieces represent the unknowns of autism. (Example: one mother told me that for her it represented the missing pieces of her life that her child filled in for her.) Below is what the puzzle piece means - OFFICIALLY. Over those years, several people have put their own unique meaning to what it represents. The puzzle piece ribbon was created back in 1999, some 22 years ago. I’d like a moment to clarify just a few things. I was there in the the room that day and I had both input and a vote. One of the things they are saying is that no one with autism was involved in its creation. There has been some misinformation spreading out there on the web lately about the puzzle piece awareness ribbon and what it means and represents.
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