Trump Announces Deals With Lilly and Novo to Cut Weight-Loss Drug Prices

President Trump announced agreements on Thursday with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to lower the prices of their popular GLP-1 weight-loss drugs and to extend Medicare coverage of them to some patients. The drugmakers, which make Zepbound (Lilly) and Wegovy and Ozempic (Novo), agreed to a price of $245 a month for Medicare and Medicaid, NBC News and CNBC reported.

Under the arrangement, eligible Medicare patients would pay no more than a $50 copay, and Medicaid patients typically pay no copay, NBC reported. Officials said Medicare coverage should begin by the middle of 2026 through a pilot program, NBC and CNBC reported. Medicaid participation depends on states opting in, CBS reported. Administration officials estimate that about 10 percent of Medicare beneficiaries would qualify.

Eligibility is narrow. Medicare is barred by law from covering drugs used for weight loss alone, so the plan relies on a pilot program and on medical criteria, NBC reported.

For people paying cash, the drugs would be sold through a government-backed website, TrumpRx. NBC reported the average monthly price starts at about $350 and is expected to fall to about $250 within two years, while CBS said the price of Ozempic and Wegovy injections would be about $350 starting in January. Starting doses of weight-loss pills, if the Food and Drug Administration approves them, would cost $149 a month. No such pill is approved yet.

Executives and officials praised the deal. Lilly Chief Executive David Ricks called it “a pivotal moment in U.S. health care policy,” and Novo Nordisk’s Mike Doustdar said the announcement would bring semaglutide medicines to more American patients at a lower cost, CNBC reported. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said it would have “the biggest impact on the American people.”

Independent experts were more cautious. Art Caplan of NYU Langone Health said “the details are totally obscure,” while Stacie Dusetzina of Vanderbilt University said $250 to $350 a month is still a lot for many people. Juliette Cubanski of KFF questioned how the administration would get around the legal bar on Medicare coverage of weight-loss drugs, NBC reported.

Administration officials said about 10 percent of Medicare beneficiaries would be eligible under the criteria, NBC and CBS reported.