(NBC News) – The vote, by the Ways and Means Committee, is one of the first steps needed to reverse a more than two-decades-old ban prohibiting the government from paying for the drugs.

For more than two decades, a law has prohibited Medicare from paying for weight loss drugs, cutting off access to millions of potential patients who could stand to benefit.

The ban has come into even sharper relief in recent years, with the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of powerful but pricey drugs including Wegovy and Zepbound, which, without insurance coverage, are unaffordable to all but the wealthiest members of society. (Read More)