Michigan just made it harder for low-income residents to get a class of medications that doctors use to treat some of the most common and serious chronic diseases in the state — type 2 diabetes, heart disease, sleep apnea, and obesity. As of early 2026, the state restricted Medicaid coverage of GLP-1 drugs to only patients with a body mass index above 40, cutting off thousands of people whose doctors say they need these medications right now.

GLP-1 drugs are not just "diet pills." They are prescription medications that work by regulating how the body processes blood sugar and hunger. Doctors prescribe them to lower the risk of heart attack and stroke, manage blood sugar in diabetic and pre-diabetic patients, reduce dangerous pauses in breathing during sleep, and help people whose bodies — due to illness, disability, or genetics — cannot regulate weight on their own. For many patients, these drugs are not a shortcut. They are the treatment.

Michigan's new rule draws a hard line at a BMI of 40. But a person with a BMI of 33, uncontrolled blood sugar, and early heart disease is seriously ill. Their doctor knows it. Cutting off their medication doesn't change that — it just means their condition gets worse until it becomes a crisis. And treating a crisis costs far more than preventing one.

We are calling on Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Elizabeth Hertel and Governor Gretchen Whitmer to restore Medicaid coverage of GLP-1 drugs based on a patient's full medical picture — not a single number. Let doctors decide who needs treatment. That is what medicine is supposed to look like.