AOO's flagship advocacy work — built to give Arizona legislators, payers, employers, and Medicaid officials the evidence base they need to act on obesity coverage.
The Cost of Inaction is a comprehensive policy paper making the economic, clinical, and human case for evidence-based obesity care coverage in Arizona — across Medicaid, commercial plans, and employer benefits.
It is written for an Arizona audience: legislators deciding how to allocate state health spending, AHCCCS officials writing coverage policy, payer medical directors setting formulary decisions, employer benefits leaders evaluating their plans, and healthcare executives setting strategic direction for obesity care.
Each section translates the underlying clinical and economic evidence into the form decision-makers can actually use: cost projections, coverage comparisons across states, treatment-outcome data, and a concrete set of pathways forward for Arizona.
Each section is built to stand on its own — readable in 10-15 minutes — while contributing to the full economic, clinical, and policy case for action.
How many Arizonans live with obesity and preobesity today, where the disease concentrates geographically and demographically, and how the burden has shifted over the last decade.
The annual economic cost of untreated obesity in Arizona — to Medicaid, employers, and the broader health system — and the projected savings from expanded coverage of evidence-based treatments.
What the evidence shows about treatment effectiveness — pharmacotherapy, bariatric surgery, lifestyle interventions — and the specific health outcomes that improve with access to care.
The current state of obesity treatment coverage in Arizona — AHCCCS Medicaid policy, commercial plan formularies, employer benefit trends — and how Arizona compares to other states.
Concrete policy and benefits-design recommendations — for legislators, AHCCCS officials, payers, and employers — with implementation steps and projected impact.
Full citation list, source library structure, economic modeling assumptions, and methodology notes — supporting the rigor and reproducibility of every claim in the paper.
The Cost of Inaction is structured to withstand scrutiny from clinicians, economists, payer actuaries, and policy analysts alike.
Every source is categorized by topic and section it supports. Reviewers can trace claims from headline to citation in a single click.
Every major claim is supported by at least two independent peer-reviewed or authoritative sources where possible.
Cost projections include sensitivity analysis. Modeling assumptions are documented in Section VI for independent verification.
National data is contextualized to Arizona — using AZ DOH, AHCCCS, and state-level surveillance data where available.
Drafted by AOO board members with clinical, policy, and public health expertise. Funder-independent (see below).
AOO believes credible advocacy requires transparent disclosure. The full disclosure language below is the same statement that will appear in the published manuscript and the 2-page legislator brief — published here so visitors, funders, and journalists can review it before the paper is released.
Douglas Maready, MD, has received speaker honoraria from Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly and Company, and IntraSana within the past 12 months. Dr. Maready is the Board Chair of the Arizona Obesity Organization (AOO), a 501(c)(3) advocacy group. The views expressed are the author's own and do not represent those of any funder.
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