President Trump announced a deal with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to lower prices on hugely popular weight-loss drugs for Medicare, Medicaid and American patients who pay with their own money.
President Trump on Thursday announced a deal that could significantly expand access for millions of Americans to hugely popular obesity drugs by reducing the price to as little as $149 a month.
The Trump administration’s agreements with the drugmakers Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly would save consumers and the government considerable money on Wegovy, Zepbound and two obesity pills that are expected to win regulatory approval in the coming months.
The lowest price, of $149 a month, will be available only for the lowest doses of the pill form of the drugs. When those drugs reach the market, Medicare and Medicaid will pay that price, as will Americans using their own money to buy the pills directly from manufacturers.
Mr. Trump, top U.S. health officials and drug company executives at the White House outlined broader coverage of the injectable drugs for people on Medicare and Medicaid, the federal insurance programs for older people; many who have disabilities; and those with lower incomes. The deal also lowers the prices the government programs will pay.
Those measures are likely to expand access but still will stop far short of covering all of the millions of people with obesity under the federal programs.
Officials said that within the next few months, Americans would be able to use their own money to buy Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound — which are each taken as weekly shots — directly from manufacturers for an average of $350 a month, depending on the dose. The officials said they expected the average cost to fall to $245 over the next two years.