People who rely on Medicare for their health plan will soon be able to get blockbuster obesity and type 2 diabetes medications with monthly copays of US$ 50, thanks to two new deals announced by the Trump administration on Thursday.
President Trump and his team announced the deals with Novo Nordisk, maker of Ozempic and Wegovy, and Eli Lilly, maker of Mounjaro and Zepbound, in the Oval Office.
The deals are part of a broader initiative called the most-favored-nation drug policy, which aims to lower drug prices in the United States and secure prices equal to or lower than those in other developed countries.
“We believe that within two years, based on improvements in our health, these deals will make us budget-neutral,” said Dr. Mehmet Oz, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, during the press conference. While access to the medications increases, their use will reduce spending on other health services. “These drugs won’t cost us money,” Oz stated. “American taxpayers will get their money back.”
The companies have committed to offering their blockbuster obesity and type 2 diabetes medications to Medicare and Medicaid programs for US$ 245 per month, with a copay for Medicare beneficiaries set at US$ 50 per month starting in April. State Medicaid programs will need to opt in separately.
The programs already cover the companies’ FDA-approved medications for type 2 diabetes, but under the deals, they will also be covered for some patients with overweight or obesity.
There are some restrictions, according to senior officials who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity ahead of the White House announcement. The medications will only be covered if patients have:
• a body mass index (BMI) above 27 and pre-diabetes or diagnosed cardiovascular disease;
• a BMI above 30 and uncontrolled hypertension, kidney disease, or heart failure;
• or a BMI above 35.
“This isn’t about losing weight,” said a senior administration official during the conference call. “It’s about making the United States healthier. It’s about preventing strokes. It’s about preventing heart attacks and other diseases. It’s about preventing end-stage renal disease.”
“Reducing the cost and leveraging the reach of Medicare and Medicaid to expand access to revolutionary weight loss medications is a transformative step in the fight against chronic diseases and obesity,” said Dr. Bobby Mukkamala, president of the American Medical Association.
Like previous deals with Pfizer and AstraZeneca, the agreements with Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly include lower prices in Medicaid, a commitment to launch new drugs in the US at prices equivalent to those in other developed countries, and discounts on medications for patients without health insurance, which will be available through the TrumpRx.gov website.
The deals with Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly also include a promise to offer starter doses of their future obesity medications — if they receive FDA approval — for US$ 149 per month to people enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid, and using TrumpRx.gov. Eli Lilly stated in a press release that it has also requested a voucher from the FDA, which could expedite its review and approval.
The current medications, administered by injection, will be available through TrumpRx without insurance for an average of US$ 350 per month — a reduction from the roughly US$ 500 currently charged to patients who buy directly. Those prices will drop to US$ 245 over the next 24 months, company representatives said.
Specifically, Eli Lilly says it will reduce the current direct-to-consumer price of Zepbound by US$ 50, bringing it to US$ 299 per month for the starter dose and US$ 449 for higher doses.
“I believe manufacturers have been receptive to this proposal in part for political reasons, but also because it would dramatically expand their patient base,” said Geoffrey Joyce, health economist and director of health policy at the USC Schaeffer Center.
In addition, in exchange for these commitments, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk will receive a three-year exemption from certain tariffs.
The White House unveiled its plan for TrumpRx and the first deal with Pfizer on September 30. It also announced a deal with AstraZeneca on October 10 and with EMD Serono on October 16, though that deal only included EMD Serono’s fertility medications, not its cancer or multiple sclerosis drugs.
All the deals follow a May executive order and letters sent to 17 pharmaceutical companies over the summer to pressure them to voluntarily lower prices.
The TrumpRx website is expected to launch sometime in 2026 and will direct consumers to the pharmaceutical companies’ direct-to-consumer sales sites to place orders.
Source: npr.org by Sydney Lupkin