Interview with Joe Nadglowski, President of the Obesity Action Coalition (OAC)
Host: Dave Knapp (On The Pen)
In this compelling and wide-ranging conversation, Dave Knapp welcomes Joe Nadglowski to discuss the critical work of the Obesity Action Coalition. Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the OAC remains the only national nonprofit organization focused on representing people living with obesity. Joe shares his personal journey—including trying seven medications—and explains how the OAC emerged to fill a massive void: the absence of patient voices in legislative and medical decision-making.
The discussion highlights:
The uphill battle for FDA approval of obesity medications and how OAC helped reshape advisory panels to include patients and obesity experts.
The Treat and Reduce Obesity Act (TROA): A bipartisan effort to expand Medicare coverage for obesity treatment and counseling, which has now been introduced in eight consecutive Congressional sessions.
The systemic failure of insurance companies, which often exclude obesity care, leaving patients to fend for themselves or rely on compounders and even gray-market alternatives.
The importance of access: Joe and Dave argue that all innovation is meaningless unless patients can actually get the medications.
Compounding: While OAC officially does not endorse compounded medications due to safety concerns, Joe clarifies that he holds no judgment for patients who use them and acknowledges the systemic failures that drive people to do so.
The bigger picture: They touch on PBM reform, drug pricing transparency, and whether “Most Favored Nation” drug pricing policies could make branded medications more affordable.
Action steps for viewers: Joe invites the community to join OAC for free, get involved in advocacy through their Action Center, and attend the upcoming YWM (Your Weight Matters) Convention in D.C., which includes an advocacy day on Capitol Hill.
The conversation blends personal experience, deep policy insight, and a call to collective action.
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