WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump announced a deal Thursday with drugmakers Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to expand insurance coverage and lower prices for their popular obesity treatments Zepbound and Wegovy.
The drugs belong to a up-to-date generation of obesity drugs, called GLP-1 receptor agonists, which have grown in popularity in recent years.
But access to the drugs continues to be a problem because of the high cost — about $500 a month for higher doses — and inadequate insurance coverage for patients.
Coverage for obesity medications will be expanded to Medicare patients starting next year, the government said. The government said it will also gradually introduce some lower prices for patients without insurance. Initial doses of up-to-date pill versions of the treatments will also cost $149 a month if they are approved.
“(It) will save lives and improve the health of millions and millions of Americans,” Trump said in an Oval Office announcement in which he called GLP-1 a “fat drug.”
Thursday’s announcement is the Trump administration’s latest attempt to rein in rising drug prices to address voter concerns about the cost of living. Drugmakers Pfizer and AstraZeneca recently agreed to reduce prescription drug costs for Medicaid after a May regulation gave drugmakers a deadline to either lower prices or face up-to-date caps on government payment.
As with the other offers, it is not clear how much the price drop will be felt by consumers. Drug prices can vary depending on competition for treatments and insurance coverage.
Anti-obesity drugs are becoming increasingly popular, but they are high-priced
The obesity drugs work by targeting hormones in the gut and brain that affect appetite and satiety. In clinical trials, they helped people lose between 15 and 22% of their body weight – in many cases up to 50 pounds or more.
Patients taking these medications typically start with smaller doses and then augment to larger amounts as needed. Since obesity is considered a chronic disease, they must take the treatment indefinitely or risk gaining weight, experts say.
The fast-growing treatments have proven particularly lucrative for drugmakers Eli Lilly and Co. and Novo Nordisk. Lilly recently said Zepbound’s revenue has tripled to more than $9 billion so far this year.
But for many Americans, their cost puts them out of reach.
Medicare, the federally funded insurance program primarily for people age 65 and older, does not cover obesity treatment. President Donald Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, proposed a rule last November that would have changed that. But the Trump administration killed it last spring.
Few state and federal Medicaid programs for low-income people provide coverage. And employers and insurers that offer commercial coverage are reluctant to cover the cost of these drugs, in part because of the gigantic number of patients who could operate them.
The $500 monthly price tag for higher doses of the treatments makes them unaffordable, even for people without insurance, doctors say.
Medicare now covers the cost of medications for conditions such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, but not just for weight loss.
Trump shows he has concerns about the cost of living
The effort to lower cost barriers for popular GLP-1 drugs comes at a time when the White House wants to show that Trump understands Americans’ frustration over rising costs for food, housing, health care and other essentials.
“Trump is the friend of the forgotten American,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in Thursday’s announcement. “Obesity is a disease of poverty. And these drugs were predominantly only available to wealthy people.”
Kennedy had previously expressed skepticism about GLP-1 in the fight against obesity and related diseases. But he praised Trump for pushing to provide access to the drug to a wider swath of Americans.
The announcement came after Republican gubernatorial candidates in New Jersey and Virginia faced defeat in Tuesday’s election, where voters’ gloomy view of the economy appeared to be a buoyant factor in the campaign.
About half of Virginia voters said “the economy” was the top issue, and about six in 10 of those voters chose Democrat Abigail Spanberger as governor, helping her to a decisive victory, according to an AP voter poll.
In New Jersey, Democrat Mikie Sherrill won about two-thirds of voters who called “the economy” the state’s biggest problem, the poll showed. She defeated Trump-backed Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli. More than half of New York voters said the cost of living was the biggest issue facing the city. Democratic mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani won about two-thirds of that group.
The White House sought to diminish the previous Democratic administration’s efforts as a gift to the pharmaceutical industry because the proposal did not include adequate price concessions from drugmakers.
Instead, Trump struck a “belt and suspenders” deal that ensures Americans don’t unfairly fund the pharmaceutical industry’s innovations, claimed a senior administration official who briefed reporters ahead of Trump’s announcement in the Oval Office on Thursday.
Another senior administration official said drug coverage will be expanded to Medicare patients starting next year. Those who qualify will pay a $50 copay for the medication.
The government’s TrumpRx program is also phasing in lower prices for people without health insurance, allowing people to buy drugs directly from manufacturers. from January.
Officials said lower prices will also be available for state and federally funded Medicaid programs. And starting doses of up-to-date pill versions of the obesity treatments will cost $149 a month if they are approved.
The officials briefed reporters on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House.
Doctors welcome the price drop
Dr. Leslie Golden says she has about 600 patients seeking one of these treatments, and 75% or more of them struggle to afford it. Even with insurance coverage, some face a $150 co-pay for refills.
“Every visit you ask yourself, ‘How long can we keep going like this? What’s the plan if I can’t keep going?'” said Golden, a bariatric medicine specialist in Watertown, Wisconsin. “Some of them are working extra hours or delaying retirement so they can continue to pay for it.”
Both Lilly and Novo have already reduced the prices of their medications. Lilly said earlier this year that the initial dose cost of Zepbound would be reduced to $349.
Dr. Angela Fitch, who also treats obesity patients, said she hopes a deal between the White House and drugmakers could be the first step in making the treatments more affordable.
“We need a hero in obesity treatment today,” said Fitch, founder and chief medical officer of Knownwell, a weight loss and medical care company. “The community has faced ongoing barriers to accessing GLP-1 drugs, ultimately due to price, even though we have data supporting their effectiveness.”
