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📂 Category: Government News,News
💡 Here’s what you’ll learn:
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Key takeaways
- Medicare and Medicaid will cover drugs used for weight loss for the first time, offering Wegovy, Zepbound, Monjauro and Ozempic for $50 a month in copayments.
- The White House has negotiated lower prices from Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, which set sticker prices for drugs at $1,000 a month or more.
- A new website, TrumpRX, will offer drugs at prices lower than those currently offered by manufacturers to uninsured patients.
Medicare recipients will be able to buy often prescribed weight-loss drugs for $50 a month under a plan announced by President Donald Trump on Thursday.
The lower prices for the drugs, not currently available to obese patients on Medicare and Medicaid, are the result of a deal between the White House and drugmakers Novo Nordisk (NVO) and Eli Lilly (LLY). Under the arrangement, the companies would sell popular weight loss drugs, including Wegovy, Zepbound, Mounjaro and Ozempic, to the government for $245 a month, down from current sticker prices of $1,000 or more, allowing for a $50 copayment.
The drugs will also be available at a discount to anyone on TrumpRX.com, a new government site to buy drugs at wholesale prices. Customers will pay $350 per month for Ozempic and Weygovy, both of which are currently available for $499 per month if purchased directly from the manufacturers. Zepbound will be available for $346 per month, compared to $349 per month for the starting dose, and $499 per month for the higher doses directly from Eli Lilly.
What does this mean for your finances?
The deal makes weight-loss drugs available to people on government health insurance programs for relatively low monthly copayments, and could significantly expand the number of people who can afford to take them.
The pills are expected to be released soon, and will cost $150 per month when approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Manufacturers have not announced pricing, so TrumpRX prices cannot be compared yet.
In April, the White House rescinded a program started by former President Joe Biden that would have Medicare and Medicaid covered weight-loss drugs earlier this year.
The deal was the latest of several drug pricing agreements between the Trump administration and major manufacturers aimed at lowering costs for Americans. Experts doubt that the program will affect many patients, as most medications are purchased through insurance programs.
However, relatively cheap weight loss pills can be a game changer. About 15 million people could end up taking the new pills, which will be more affordable and have the advantage of not putting off needle-phobic patients, Deutsche Bank’s James Chen said in a research note.
Novo Nordisk shares were down 2.7% Thursday afternoon, while Eli Lilly shares were up about 1%.
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